The Board has dismissed the claims for service connection for right index finger condition, right hand arthritis (including as secondary to right index finger), and reopening of claim of service connection for chronic headaches.
The deciding factor: The Veteran did not respond to the Board's requests for clarification, leading to a dismissal of the appeals.
- Claimed conditions
- right index finger condition, right hand arthritis, chronic headaches
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 16, 2020
- Citation
- 20003707
Veterans Law Judge
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 20003707.
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
Service connection for chronic headaches and restoration of a 20 percent disability rating for the service-connected left wrist strain are granted.,The appeal to restore a higher disability rating for the broken right foot is dismissed.
- Granted
The Veteran's effective date for service connection of left leg amputation and associated scars, as well as SMC based on loss of use of the left leg, is set to January 28, 2022. The effective date for DEA eligibility is also set to January 28, 2022. An effective date prior to January 28, 2022, was denied for service connection of chronic headaches.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for service connection for right hand arthritis and left hand arthritis have been dismissed.,The Veteran's appeals for a higher rating for lumbar strain, radiculopathy of the left sciatic nerve, and radiculopathy of the right sciatic nerve have been remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has granted service connection for right hand arthritis but has remanded the issue of entitlement to service connection for nocturia due to duty-to-assist errors.
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