The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hand degenerative arthritis, diagnosed as multiple joint arthritis, was incurred in service and continues to this day. The claim for service connection is granted.
The deciding factor: The evidence shows a current diagnosis of bilateral hand degenerative arthritis, continuity of symptoms since service, and no direct evidence against it, leading the Board to find that the condition is related to service.
- Claimed conditions
- multiple joint arthritis, bilateral hand degenerative arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 23, 2020
- Citation
- 20068902
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,316 · Granted: 43% (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 20068902.
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.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for chronic sinusitis with headaches, reactive airway disease, right foot hallux rigidus, right foot arthritis, bilateral hand degenerative arthritis, and bilateral shoulder tendonitis and arthritis as these conditions are related to the Veteran's military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hand degenerative arthritis is being remanded due to the need for a new opinion regarding the etiology of his condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims of service connection for cervical back condition, high cholesterol, sleep apnea, bilateral feet degenerative arthritis, and bilateral hand degenerative arthritis due to missing records from his Army Reserve service. The RO is instructed to verify any reserve service with NPRC and Army Reserve Personnel Center, obtain all relevant service treatment records, and seek out any outstanding VA or private treatment records.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for multiple joint arthritis and sleep apnea was denied as there is no evidence of these conditions during or within one year after his military service, and the weight of the medical evidence does not support a link to service.
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