The Board denied the Veteran's claim for special monthly compensation (SMC) based on loss of use of his left wrist, as the evidence did not support a finding that he had no effective function in the hand other than what would be equally well served by an amputation stump at the site of election below the elbow with use of a suitable prosthetic appliance.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran's symptoms and functional loss, while present, did not meet the criteria for loss of use of the left hand as required for SMC under 38 U.S.C. § 1114(k).
- Claimed conditions
- left wrist disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 19, 2025
- Citation
- A25109709
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 291 · Granted: 26% (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 A25109709.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for right and left wrist disorders due to a duty to assist error in failing to provide notice of a hearing.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the etiology of the Veteran's left wrist disorder and its relationship to service, including his right hand fracture.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the issues of service connection for tinnitus, low back disorder, right wrist disorder, left wrist disorder, and bilateral hearing loss due to incomplete or inaccurate factual premises in previous opinions.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed all issues of service connection due to the Veteran's withdrawal of his appeal.
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