The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hand osteoarthritis is at least as likely as not incurred in service, and therefore grants service connection for this condition.
The deciding factor: The evidence shows a current diagnosis of osteoarthritis of the DIP joints of digits 2 through 5 bilaterally, consistent with natural aging. However, the Veteran's personal care provider provided credible testimony linking his osteoarthritis to his military service as a metal worker.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hand osteoarthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 4, 2019
- Citation
- 19101170
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,812 · Granted: 30% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 19101170.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claim of service connection for heart disability, to include hypertension and pacemaker implant, as secondary to now service-connected bilateral hand and bilateral foot osteoarthritis due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for steatohepatitis and gastrointestinal impairment, to include chronic diarrhea and GERD. The claims for a chronic cough, right upper extremity neuropathy, left upper extremity neuropathy, facial scar, back disability, left hip disability, bilateral hand osteoarthritis, hemorrhoids, erectile dysfunction, and hypertension were denied.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral hand osteoarthritis and remanded the claim for a lung condition (lung spot) for further development.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for multiple musculoskeletal disabilities, including cervical spine degenerative disc disease and bilateral joint osteoarthritis, based on in-service exposure to PCBs.
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