The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for various upper extremity disabilities, including wrist, forearm, humerus, elbow, and shoulder conditions, all of which were deemed secondary to his service-connected right thumb disability. The evidence did not support a nexus between these conditions and service or the service-connected condition.
The deciding factor: The VA medical opinions found no direct link between the Veteran's upper extremity disabilities and his in-service injury or service-connected condition, attributing them instead to diabetes mellitus type II and repetitive use of the upper extremities post-service.
- Claimed conditions
- Right wrist degenerative arthritis, Right ulnar neuropathy, Right median neuropathy
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 19, 2021
- Citation
- 21069807
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 21069807.
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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his lung cancer was related to his service-connected melanoma.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, left knee disability, and right knee disability. The claims for urinary frequency disability and residuals of a cholecystectomy were denied.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 20 percent disability rating for left and right lower extremity radiculopathy from April 3, 2023 onward, but denied higher ratings prior to that date. Service connection was also granted for alcohol use disorder as secondary to PTSD with traumatic brain injury.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for right lower extremity sciatica associated with the Veteran's service-connected lumbosacral spine strain, but remanded claims for service connection for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and sleep apnea.
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