The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for Special Monthly Compensation (SMC) based on loss of use of both hands, effective June 19, 2010. The underlying service-connected bilateral hand disability resulted in a significant impairment after this date.
The deciding factor: The increase in disability occurred after the December 16, 2008 claim was filed and became factually ascertainable as of June 19, 2010.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hand Disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 50%
- Decision date
- October 29, 2024
- Citation
- A24069478
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,455 · Granted: 23% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation A24069478.
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.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a back disability, bilateral hand disability, obstructive sleep apnea, and bilateral foot disability.,Service connection is denied for chronic fatigue syndrome.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for OSA and a bilateral hand disability due to inadequate compliance with previous remand directives. The Veteran's sleep disorder may be related to her active service, but more evidence is needed regarding her hand disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to conflicting evidence regarding the onset and etiology of his claimed disabilities. Additional VA examinations are needed to determine if any current disabilities are related to service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the VA examinations and medical opinions are inadequate for several reasons, including inconsistency in findings and reliance on absence of treatment or diagnosis in service. The Veteran's statements regarding a potential injury to his right shoulder during service have been considered. Therefore, the claims for service connection for right shoulder disability and bilateral hand disability are remanded for further development.
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