The appeals for increased disability ratings for right and left ring finger degenerative arthritis, fracture residuals were dismissed as the Veteran did not provide a timely Notice of Disagreement within one year following notice of the July 2021 rating decision.
The deciding factor: The Veteran failed to file a timely Notice of Disagreement within the required one-year period after receiving notice of the July 2021 rating decision, which was outside the allowed extension period due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Claimed conditions
- right ring finger degenerative arthritis, fracture residuals, left ring finger degenerative arthritis, fracture residuals
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 29, 2024
- Citation
- A24069570
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,037 · Granted: 21% (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 A24069570.
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
What you can do next
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