The Veteran's service-connected bilateral hand disability associated with rheumatoid arthritis has resulted in loss of use of both hands, and he is granted special monthly compensation (SMC) under 38 U.S.C. § 1114(m).
The deciding factor: The evidence is in relative equipoise; therefore, resolving reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran, his service-connected bilateral hand disability associated with rheumatoid arthritis has resulted in loss of use of both hands.
- Claimed conditions
- rheumatoid arthritis of the bilateral hands
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- May 29, 2025
- Citation
- A25047681
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,592 · Granted: 19% (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 A25047681.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an effective date prior to October 17, 2007 for the grant of service connection for right lower extremity radiculopathy is dismissed.,An initial disability rating in excess of 50 percent for an acquired psychiatric disability characterized as insomnia disorder with non-sleep disorder, mental comorbidity, and medical comorbidity, and adjustment disorder with depressed mood is denied.,A disability rating in excess of 10 percent for rheumatoid arthritis of the bilateral hands is denied.,A disability rating in excess of 10 percent for a back disability characterized as degenerative disc disease and stenosis of the lumbar spine, status post lumbosacral strain, is denied.,A disability rating in excess of 10 percent for right lower extremity radiculopathy is denied.,Service connection for bilateral hearing loss is not granted.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for rheumatoid arthritis of the bilateral hands was reopened and granted. Service connection is also granted for right foot plantar fasciitis/tendonitis, TMJ syndrome, and bilateral patellofemoral knee syndrome. The issue of increased rating for right ankle condition remains pending.
- Denied
The Veteran's initial rating for rheumatoid arthritis of the right wrist and bilateral hands was denied. A higher initial rating of 10 percent is granted for service-connected rheumatoid arthritis of the left wrist until January 16, 2017, but a higher rating is not warranted after that date.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for increased evaluations for his service-connected rheumatoid arthritis was denied. The effective date of the deconstructed ratings remains March 31, 2007.
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