The Board denied earlier effective dates for the assignment of a separate disability rating and service connection for various right hand conditions due to lack of evidence supporting an earlier claim or increase in severity.
The deciding factor: There was no factually ascertainable increase in severity or formal/ informal claims prior to December 30, 2021, as required by the regulations governing effective dates for increased ratings and service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- right elbow disability, right index finger arthritis, right long finger arthritis, right wrist disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- October 28, 2025
- Citation
- A25093027
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 3,319 · Granted: 25% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation A25093027.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claims for miscarriage, cervical spine disability, lumbar spine disability, and right elbow disability due to insufficient examination opinions and incomplete service history verification.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for lumbar spine, left knee, right knee, right wrist, headaches, and sleep disturbances as there is no persuasive evidence of current disabilities during the appeal period.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has found that new and relevant evidence has been received for the Veteran's claims of lumbar spine disability, cervical spine disability, RLE sciatica, LLE sciatica, right wrist disability, left wrist disability, hypothyroidism, alopecia, and solar urticaria. These claims are being remanded to allow for further examination and opinion regarding their etiology.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew her appeals for the service connection of multiple conditions, including low back disability, bilateral foot disability, cervical spine disability, migraines, right hand and shoulder disabilities, right wrist disability, asthma (claimed as Gulf War Syndrome), chronic fatigue syndrome, dysmenorrhea, irritable bowel syndrome, and sleep disability. As a result, these claims are dismissed.
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