The Veteran's left middle finger disability is granted a 10 percent evaluation prior to August 9, 2016. An evaluation in excess of 10 percent for the left middle finger disability beginning on August 9, 2016, and a compensable evaluation for the right little finger disability are denied.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's left middle finger disability is rated under Diagnostic Code 5229 due to painful motion warranting the minimum compensable evaluation. The right little finger disability is rated under Diagnostic Code 5156 as amputation without metacarpal resection, which results in a 10 percent evaluation.
- Claimed conditions
- Left Middle Finger, Left Ring Finger, Right Little Finger
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- February 22, 2019
- Citation
- 19113045
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 631 · Granted: 21% (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 19113045.
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's right thumb disability is currently rated at 10 percent and the claim for an increased rating has been denied.,The Veteran's right index finger disability is currently rated at 10 percent and the claim for an increased rating has been denied.,The Veteran's right long finger disability is currently rated at 10 percent and the claim for an increased rating has been denied.,The Veteran's right ring finger disability is currently rated at 0 percent (noncompensable) and the claim for an increased rating has been denied.,The Veteran's right little finger disability is currently rated at 0 percent (noncompensable) and the claim for an increased rating has been denied.
- Granted
The Veteran's left middle and ring finger disabilities are rated at a combined 20 percent, with the decision finding unfavorable ankylosis of both fingers throughout the appeal period.
- Denied
The Board denied higher ratings for limitation of motion in the right long finger, ring finger, and little finger due to lack of ankylosis or functional equivalent of amputation.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected left thumb, index finger, long finger, ring finger, and little finger disabilities have been denied as the current ratings of 20 percent for each condition are considered to be the maximum allowable under VA regulations.
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