The Veteran's claim for increased rating for left hand scars and initial compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss was denied. Service connection for left hand arthritis of the long finger and ring and little fingers was granted with a 10% rating effective February 4, 2020.
The deciding factor: The VA examination did not provide sufficient information to determine if there were any functional limitations due to pain or other factors that would warrant higher ratings for the Veteran's left hand conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- left hand injury, left hand arthritis of the long finger, left hand arthritis of the ring and little fingers
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- October 15, 2020
- Citation
- 20066940
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,435 · Granted: 22% (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 20066940.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
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 determined that the character of the Appellant's discharge is a bar to VA benefits, and thus did not address his service connection claims. The case is being remanded for the AOJ to obtain missing records related to the special court-martial and complete a new determination on the character of the discharge.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for left hand injury to obtain additional evidence and a more thorough medical opinion.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the veteran's left hand injury, left foot condition, right foot condition, left ankle strain, and right ankle strain. The evidence did not show a current diagnosis or symptoms related to these conditions.
- Granted
The Veteran's left hand injury is determined to be a result of his military service, and the Board has granted service connection for this condition.
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