The Veteran's nerve damage of the left upper extremity, which includes intercostal neuralgia, is related to his service-connected residuals of lung cancer and thus service connection is granted.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner concluded that the paresthesias (numbness and hyperalgesia) are related to the thoracotomy procedure via manipulation of the intercostal nerve/branches and other small nerves, which is secondary to his service-connected residuals of lung cancer.
- Claimed conditions
- nerve damage of the left upper extremity, intercostal neuralgia
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 9, 2019
- Citation
- 19102257
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 3,217 · Granted: 46% (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 19102257.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran was granted service connection for pneumothorax with an effective date of December 30, 2021.,Service connection for intercostal neuralgia was also granted with the same effective date.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to new evidence and need for further examination, including on intercostal neuralgia and upper extremity impairment.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's intercostal neuralgia and hypertension are adequately compensated under applicable schedular rating criteria. The acquired psychiatric disorder is not service-connected.
- Granted
The Board has reopened the Veteran's claims for service connection for a back disability and an acquired psychiatric disorder, including depressive disorder. The claim for service connection for nerve damage to the bilateral upper extremities is also granted. The decision does not specify any effective date.
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