The Veteran's claim for a compensable disability rating for Dupuytren's contracture of the right little finger was denied as his current condition does not meet the criteria for any higher rating.,Service connection for hypertension on a direct basis was also denied, with the Board finding that there is no evidence linking the condition to service.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's Dupuytren's contracture of the right little finger has been rated as noncompensable due to the absence of any limitation of motion or functional impairment. The maximum schedular criteria for this disability have already been assigned.,For hypertension, there was no evidence linking it to service, and the Board found that the Veteran's condition is not related to his service-connected conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- Dupuytren's contracture, right distal interphalangeal (DIP) joint, little finger, Hypertension
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 5, 2023
- Citation
- 23020846
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 23020846.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim of service connection for hypertension, finding that it did not manifest during service and is not causally related to the Veteran's exposure to herbicides or service.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current condition and active duty service or herbicide exposure.
- Denied
The Board has denied service connection for hypertension and has remanded the issue of an increased rating for skin condition.
- Granted
The Board has restored the Veteran's 10% rating for hypertension effective December 1, 2025 and denied a rating in excess of 10%. The reduction from 10% to noncompensable was not proper.
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