The Board has granted earlier effective dates of March 16, 2007 for the awards of service connection for right thumb and long finger disabilities.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's right hand disabilities first manifested before May 16, 2007, which is the date entitlement arose. The claim was filed more than one year after separation from active duty, so an earlier effective date is not warranted.
- Claimed conditions
- right thumb disability, right long finger disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 25, 2026
- Citation
- A26017274
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 A26017274.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for chronic dry eye, chronic fatigue syndrome, constipation, IBS, left little finger disability, left index finger disability, left thumb disability, left ring finger disability, left long finger disability, right ring finger disability, right index finger disability, right long finger disability, and right thumb disability due to an error in the initial decision. The Veteran was not provided with notice of her right to a hearing on these issues.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claims for service connection for left ankle and right thumb disabilities, finding that new evidence supports these claims.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for residuals of a head injury and right thumb disability, finding no current disabilities or persistent symptoms related to these conditions during the pendency of the appeal.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a back disability, but denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and dismissed the claim of service connection for a right thumb disability as moot.
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