The Veteran's service-connected elbow and wrist disabilities have not met the criteria for a higher disability rating at any time during the appeal period.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not show that the Veteran’s elbow or wrist disabilities warranted an initial compensable or higher disability rating prior to May 4, 2018 or since May 4, 2018.
- Claimed conditions
- Medial epicondylitis of the right elbow, Tendonitis of the right wrist, Medial epicondylitis of the left elbow, Tendonitis of the left wrist
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- January 2, 2020
- Citation
- 20000253
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,911 · Granted: 10% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 20000253.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for a left wrist disability, right shoulder disability, medial epicondylitis of the right elbow, and an acquired psychiatric disability as new and relevant evidence has been received to reopen these claims.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded for further development, including obtaining updated VA and non-VA treatment records, arranging for orthopedic examinations to assess the severity of his service-connected lumbar spine and right wrist disabilities, and resolving discrepancies in previous examination findings.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's claims for higher ratings for medial epicondylitis of the right elbow and tendonitis of the left hand were denied. The Veteran was granted a compensable rating (10%) for tendonitis of the left-hand effective August 29, 2012.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to inadequate rationale in the VA opinion and failure to comply with remand directives. The Veteran's right elbow disability is being reviewed for service connection on both direct theory (no current diagnosis found) and secondary theory (right shoulder disability aggravation).
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