The Board has determined that the Veteran's osteoarthritis of the bilateral hands did not have onset in service, was not related to his service-connected gout, and is not otherwise related to service. Therefore, the claim for service connection for osteoarthritis of the bilateral hands is denied.
The deciding factor: The Board found no evidence linking the Veteran's osteoarthritis of the bilateral hands to his active duty service or his service-connected gout.
- Claimed conditions
- Osteoarthritis of the right hand, Osteoarthritis of the left hand
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 10, 2019
- Citation
- 19144829
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,341 · Granted: 33% (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 19144829.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for osteoarthritis of the left hand, chronic right ankle disorder, and chronic left ankle disorder. Service connection was also denied for a genitourinary (GU) disorder. The Veteran's claims were remanded for further examination.
- Granted
The Board granted a 10 percent disability rating for osteoarthritis of the right hand and service connection for a left shoulder disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the issue of service connection for a bilateral upper extremity disability, which includes right carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), osteoarthritis of the right hand, and right index trigger finger. The Veteran asserts that these disabilities are secondary to his now service-connected dizziness.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's TDIU claim is being remanded as the Board cannot make a decision on an extraschedular basis without further review by the Director of Compensation Service.
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