The Veteran's service connection claims for left and right hand disabilities were granted with effective dates of September 16, 2009. The Board found that the criteria for an earlier effective date than September 16, 2009, have not been met.
The deciding factor: The Veteran did not appeal the November 2007 Board decision and his claims were reopened on September 16, 2009, which is considered the effective date for the grant of service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- Left Hand Disability, Right Hand Disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- May 23, 2019
- Citation
- 19139205
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,170 · Granted: 38% (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 19139205.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for a higher rating for PTSD and dismissed his appeals regarding increased ratings for tinnitus and a right hand disability due to lack of timely filing of Notice of Disagreement.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the current evidence is insufficient to establish service connection for the Veteran's claimed disabilities, and thus remands the claims for further development.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim of service connection for PTSD is granted, and he is awarded separate initial 10 percent ratings for left hand strain with painful index finger motion and long finger motion. The claims for other disabilities are remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD has been denied due to the absence of a diagnosed condition.,Service connection is being remanded for bilateral foot, lumbar spine, knee, ankle, and elbow disabilities.
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