The Veteran's claim for service connection for a disability manifested by pain in the hands is denied. The claim for TDIU is moot throughout the claims period as she is already receiving a total schedular rating. The claim for an earlier effective date for DEA benefits under Chapter 35 is also denied.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's hand disabilities were not incurred or aggravated by active service and are not related to any in-service injury. She is now in receipt of a total disability rating, making the TDIU claim moot. The criteria for eligibility to Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA/Chapter 35) benefits under Chapter 35 were not met prior to January 11, 2006.
- Claimed conditions
- Right index finger cyst, Bilateral hand strains
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- February 12, 2019
- Citation
- 19110311
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,104 · Granted: 28% (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 19110311.
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