The Board granted service connection for degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine, left shoulder arthritis, and numbness in the left thumb and index finger.
The deciding factor: The evidence is at least evenly balanced as to whether the Veteran's diagnosed conditions are related to his service events. The private medical opinion provided a detailed rationale that considered lay and medical evidence.
- Claimed conditions
- cervical spine arthritis, left shoulder arthritis, left thumb contusion, left index finger contusion
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- April 7, 2025
- Citation
- A25031591
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 945 · Granted: 43% (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 A25031591.
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 obstructive sleep apnea and dismissed all other appeals related to various joint conditions.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for a neck/cervical spine disability, finding that his current condition is at least as likely as not related to active duty service.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for special monthly compensation based on need for aid and attendance or housebound status.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings and service connection have been dismissed as the Veteran requested to withdraw all of his appeals prior to a decision being made.
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