The Veteran's claim for arthritis of the right thumb was reopened and granted service connection. An initial rating of 20% is assigned for scars of the left ankle, left knee, and right wrist.,Service connection for depressive disorder is granted with an effective date of September 17, 2016.
The deciding factor: The Veteran submitted new evidence showing ongoing symptoms related to his in-service injury, which raised a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim for arthritis of the right thumb.
- Claimed conditions
- Arthritis of the right thumb, Scars of the left ankle, left knee, and right wrist, Depressive disorder
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- January 28, 2020
- Citation
- 20006091
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,977 · Granted: 27% (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 20006091.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has identified a contradiction in the AOJ's determinations regarding the Veteran's need for aid and assistance, which requires clarification. The remanded issues are entitlement to SMC based on the need for regular aid and attendance of another and on the basis of statutory housebound status.
- Denied
The Veteran is found not competent to handle the disbursement of VA funds, and his appeal is denied.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for special monthly compensation (SMC) due to being housebound is denied because he does not have a single service-connected disability rated as total, and his disabilities are not separate and distinct from the maximum combined rating of 100 percent.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and depressive disorder. The evidence is at least in balance regarding whether his current conditions are related to his military service.
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