The Board has granted service connection for residuals of a left hand injury, finding that the Veteran's current disability is related to an in-service burn injury. The claim was denied previously due to a duty to assist error and then reconsidered based on new evidence.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran's left hand strain is at least as likely as not incurred during service, specifically from burns sustained while doing push-ups on hot pavement.
- Claimed conditions
- left hand strain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 10, 2026
- Citation
- A26021178
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 A26021178.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied a rating in excess of 10 percent for left hand strain, finding that the Veteran's symptoms and medical evidence did not support an increased rating.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for left and right hand strain, as well as left and right knee disabilities. The decision is based on the Veteran's military occupational specialty tasks that led to his current conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for headaches, left hand strain, and right-hand strain due to inadequate VA opinions.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for left lower extremity radiculopathy, chronic fatigue syndrome, eye dryness, and morbid (severe) obesity. The claim for service connection for left hand strain was remanded.
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