The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for right hand and left hand disabilities, including arthritis and carpal tunnel syndrome. The evidence did not show a current disability related to an in-service injury or disease.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found no indication of a bilateral hand fracture during service and noted that post-service medical records do not provide a diagnosis until many years after separation from service.
- Claimed conditions
- right hand arthritis, right hand carpal tunnel syndrome, left hand arthritis, left hand carpal tunnel syndrome
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- January 22, 2020
- Citation
- 20005051
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,350 · Granted: 26% (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 20005051.
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 has remanded several issues related to the Veteran's claims for service connection, including sinusitis, sleep apnea, a stomach disability, left hand carpal tunnel syndrome, right hand carpal tunnel syndrome, and a back disability. The appeals are pending further examination or evidence.
- Whole decision: 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.
- Whole decision: 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.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew their appeals regarding the claims for sleep apnea, left elbow carpal tunnel syndrome, right elbow carpal tunnel syndrome, left hand carpal tunnel syndrome, right hand carpal tunnel syndrome, a left knee disability, and a right knee disability. The appeal is dismissed.
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