The Board granted service connection for bilateral hand and lower extremity conditions as secondary to hypertension, SMC based on the need for aid and attendance, and a 70 percent rating for PTSD.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's symptoms more closely approximated those associated with a 70 percent rating for PTSD, including suicidal ideation and difficulty in establishing and maintaining effective work and social relationships.
- Claimed conditions
- Left hand condition, Right hand condition, Left lower extremity condition, Right lower extremity condition
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 70%
- Decision date
- December 5, 2025
- Citation
- A25105138
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 3,038 · Granted: 30% (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 A25105138.
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 granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss, arthritis of the cervical spine, cervical radiculopathy of the left arm, back disability, left elbow condition, left shoulder condition, left wrist condition, left hand condition, hypertension, and an initial rating of 10 percent for coronary arteriosclerosis prior to September 24, 2024.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the Veteran's low back, neck, right hand, left hand, right knee, and left knee conditions as there was no evidence to support a finding that these conditions were related to active service or caused by any service-connected disability.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for a left hand condition, right knee condition and an acquired psychiatric disorder, as well as lifted the bar to VA benefits due to mitigating circumstances.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's service connection for PTSD is granted, while the claims for a bilateral foot condition, penile condition, right hand condition, and left shoulder condition are remanded.
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