The Board granted the appeal and restored service connection for right upper extremity carpal tunnel syndrome, effective June 1, 2021. The claim for an earlier effective date for costochondritis was denied.
The deciding factor: The grant of service connection for RUE CTS was not clearly and unmistakably erroneous, as reasonable minds could differ on the diagnosis. An earlier effective date for costochondritis was not warranted based on the evidence provided.
- Claimed conditions
- Right upper extremity carpal tunnel syndrome, Costochondritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- March 6, 2025
- Citation
- A25020902
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 699 · Granted: 12% (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 A25020902.
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his right and left upper extremity carpal tunnel syndrome have been denied by the Board. The evidence does not support a finding of severe incomplete paralysis, leading to a rating higher than 40 percent for the right hand or 30 percent for the left hand.
- Granted
The reduction in rating for the Veteran's back condition from 40% to 20%, effective September 1, 2025 is improper and void ab initio. The petition to reverse this reduction is granted. An increased rating for costochondritis is denied.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an effective date prior to July 18, 2012, for a finding of total disability based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities (TDIU). The Board found that the Veteran was not unemployable within one year prior to his July 18, 2012, claim.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions regarding her degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine and bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome.
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