The Veteran's claims for increased ratings of his service-connected right thumb and elbow disabilities have been denied. The right thumb disability is currently rated at 10 percent, while the right elbow disability has been rated as 20 percent from September 22, 2015 to September 25, 2019, and 10 percent thereafter under Diagnostic Code 5213 for limitation of supination and pronation. The Veteran's claims are not related to a presumption like PACT Act/Agent Orange/Camp Lejeune exposure.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not support the assignment of ratings higher than those currently assigned, as there is no indication that the Veteran's right thumb or elbow disabilities meet the criteria for more severe disability ratings under relevant VA rating criteria.
- Claimed conditions
- Right Thumb Disability, Right Elbow Disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 3, 2024
- Citation
- A24051854
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 A24051854.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the Veteran's current right shoulder disability is not related to service, but the right elbow disability requires further review due to a duty-to-assist error in obtaining an inadequate medical opinion.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for a compensable evaluation for a right thumb disability and TDIU prior to October 13, 2016 have been dismissed due to the finality of previous decisions by the Board and the Court.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for increased ratings of his acquired psychiatric, cervical spine, lumbar spine, right thumb, right index finger, and right long finger disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to duty to assist errors identified during higher-level review. The Veteran's right knee and right elbow disabilities are now subject to further development.
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