The Board has denied an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for the Veteran's right middle finger disability, finding that the condition is rated at its maximum schedular rating due to painful motion and no indication of ankylosis or amputation.
The deciding factor: The preponderance of evidence shows that the Veteran’s right-hand condition more nearly approximates a 10 percent rating which is the maximum for this condition. Ankylosis is not established, and there has been no amputation.
- Claimed conditions
- Right Middle Finger Disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- December 28, 2020
- Citation
- 20081058
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 170 · Granted: 18% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 20081058.
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 Veteran's claims for service connection have been reopened due to the submission of new and relevant evidence. Service connection is granted for PTSD, OSA, bilateral hearing loss, neck disability, right shoulder disability, right middle finger disability, right ankle disability, and left leg disability.,The Board has determined that the Veteran's current disabilities are related to his service or service-connected conditions.
- Whole decision: 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.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's major depressive disorder is granted a 100 percent rating. The right middle finger disability remains at a 10 percent rating, and the right knee strain reduction from 20 to 10 percent is upheld.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's right middle finger disability, which manifested as painful motion and limited use of his hand, was granted an initial 10 percent rating.
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