The Veteran's appeal for increased disability ratings higher than 20 percent for bilateral upper extremity peripheral neuropathy disabilities and an earlier effective date for SMC at the housebound rate was denied.,The Veteran also appealed for initial increased disability ratings higher than 10 percent for osteoarthritis of the left hand thumb, index, and long fingers associated with DM II. The appeal for right hand conditions was not addressed in this decision.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not support an increase in disability rating for the thumbs.
- Claimed conditions
- Left upper extremity peripheral neuropathy, Osteoarthritis of the left hand thumb associated with DM II, Osteoarthritis of the right hand thumb associated with DM II, Osteoarthritis of the left hand index finger associated with DM II, Osteoarthritis of the right hand index finger associated with DM II, Osteoarthritis of the left hand long finger associated with DM II, Osteoarthritis of the right hand long finger associated with DM II
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 2, 2026
- Citation
- A26018364
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 A26018364.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's GERD, neck disability, right and left upper extremity peripheral neuropathy have been granted service connection with effective dates of September 27, 2023.
- Granted
The Veteran's disability ratings for right and left upper extremity peripheral neuropathy, as well as right and left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, were restored to their previous levels of 70%, 60%, 30%, and 30% respectively, effective from February 12, 2025.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for right lower extremity and left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected low back syndrome with degenerative disc disease L4-5. Service connection was denied for right upper extremity and left upper extremity peripheral neuropathy.
- Granted
The Board has restored service connection for bilateral upper and lower extremity peripheral neuropathy due to toxic exposure risk activity, finding the original grant of service connection was not clearly and unmistakably erroneous.
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