The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not preclude him from securing or maintaining substantially gainful employment, as his combined disability ratings already contemplate significant impairment in earning capacity and loss of working time.
The deciding factor: The Veteran’s service-connected disabilities limit his ability to lift, carry, push, or pull heavy loads but can perform work that does not require such activity, including his prior job in data entry.
- Claimed conditions
- left upper extremity disabilities
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- April 3, 2020
- Citation
- 20023319
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 20023319.
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: Granted
The Board granted service connection for a neck disability and left upper extremity disabilities based on evidence of continuity of symptomatology.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's service-connected PTSD and left upper extremity disabilities rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation as of October 1, 2009. Effective from that date, he is granted TDIU (Total Disability Rating Based on Individual Unemployability) and eligibility for Dependents' Educational Assistance.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
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