The Veteran's claims for arthritis in the right hand and DJD in the thoracolumbar spine are granted. The claim for arthritis in the left hand is denied as it was not caused by or worsened by the service-connected right shoulder DJD.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found that the left hand arthritis did not have its onset in service and is more likely due to age or hereditary factors than the service-connected right shoulder disability.
- Claimed conditions
- arthritis in the right hand, arthritis in the left hand, DJD in the thoracolumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 24, 2019
- Citation
- 19180623
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,200 · Granted: 43% (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 19180623.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for arthritis in the left hand and degenerative joint disease (DJD) in the thoracolumbar spine, finding that the Veteran's symptoms have been continuous since service separation.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has ordered a remand due to the inadequacy of the February 2013 VA medical opinion, which did not explain why the Veteran's age at the time of his examination was relevant or why the lack of ongoing chronic treatment for frostbite indicated that the current diagnosis was unrelated to the in-service frostbite.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claims for service connection and increased ratings for right hand arthritis, right carpal tunnel syndrome, and left shoulder disabilities due to additional development being required.
- Granted
The Veteran's appeal to reopen service connection for residuals of a left distal radius fracture is granted. The Board also remanded the issue of entitlement to service connection for residuals of a left distal radius fracture with arthritis.
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