The Board has denied a separate rating for the Veteran's right thumb disability and remanded the case due to lack of overlap with his service-connected right carpal tunnel syndrome.,The effective date for left lateral femoral cutaneous nerve damage was granted as December 14, 2009. The Veteran is seeking an earlier effective date.,The effective date for right supraspinatus tendonitis and chronic right latissimus dorsi muscle strain was granted as August 21, 2009. The Veteran is seeking an earlier effective date.
The deciding factor: The symptoms of the Veteran’s right thumb impairment overlap with those of his service-connected right carpal tunnel syndrome with loss of use of the right hand.,There was no pending claim prior to December 14, 2009, for left lateral femoral cutaneous nerve damage associated with donor site, left iliac crest.,There was no pending claim prior to August 21, 2009, for right supraspinatus tendonitis with chronic right latissimus dorsi muscle strain.
- Claimed conditions
- Right Thumb Disability, Left Lateral Femoral Cutaneous Nerve Damage, Right Supraspinatus Tendonitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 18, 2020
- Citation
- 20026900
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 20026900.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for a compensable evaluation for a right thumb disability and TDIU prior to October 13, 2016 have been dismissed due to the finality of previous decisions by the Board and the Court.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for increased ratings of his acquired psychiatric, cervical spine, lumbar spine, right thumb, right index finger, and right long finger disabilities.
- Granted
The Veteran's right thumb disability, scar, and hearing loss have been granted service connection with effective dates of September 9, 2024.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have any of the claimed disabilities and therefore, service connection for right thumb, left thumb, right index finger, left index finger, right middle finger, left middle finger, right ring finger, left ring finger, right small finger, or left small finger disabilities is denied.
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