The Veteran's service-connected amputation of the distal phalanx of the fifth digit and crush injury of the fourth digit of the left hand is found to be aggravated by his arthritis in the left hand, which is granted as secondary to this service-connected condition.
The deciding factor: The July 2022 VA examiner opined that the Veteran's current arthritis in the left hand was proximately due to his service-connected amputation of the distal phalanx of the fifth digit and crush injury of the fourth digit of the left hand, finding no evidence to suggest that the amputation would lead to degenerative changes.
- Claimed conditions
- arthritis of left knee, arthritis of right hand, arthritis of cervical spine
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 0%
- Decision date
- October 25, 2022
- Citation
- 22059914
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 22059914.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection of various conditions due to a pre-decisional error in not obtaining medical opinions and VA treatment records.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claim for service connection for arthritis of his right hand as secondary to his crush of his right ring (4th) finger and service-connected little (5th) finger. The remand requires obtaining an addendum opinion from a clinician regarding whether the Veteran's arthritis is at least as likely as not aggravated by his service-connected little (5th) finger disability.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for blood poisoning of left and right leg, shrapnel, and arthritis of left and right knee due to a lack of current medical evidence supporting these conditions.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and PTSD have been granted. The claim for arthritis of the right hand is being remanded.
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