Board reasoning
The Board recharacterized the wrist issue to include any bilateral wrist disability and resolved reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor for service connection. For the left thumb paresthesias, the Board noted a documented left thumb laceration and recent findings, and found a basis to grant; a VA exam was considered but lay testimony and medical opinions favored a nexus to service. The bilateral elbow disability was found to be related to service based on in-service complaints and the Veteran’s history, with a favorable nexus judgment. The skin disability prior to 2016 was found to be 60 percent, and the Board concluded that this is the uniform rating for the entire period, noting that the higher rating criteria would not yield a higher result and that no disfigurement or scarring warranted higher codes. For the right ankle tendonitis, the Board determined the functional loss equated...
Issues
- service connection for a bilateral wrist sprain (initially claimed as peripheral neuropathy diagnosed as carpal tunnel syndrome)Granted
- service connection for left thumb paresthesiasGranted
- service connection for a bilateral elbow disabilityGranted
- a 60 percent rating (but no higher) for xerosis cutis with seborrheic dermatitis ("skin disability") prior to January 16, 2016Granted
- rating in excess of 60 percent for a skin disabilityDenied
- a 20 percent rating (but no higher) for right ankle tendonitisGranted
- service connection for a disability manifested by an intestinal parasite, other than IBS and GERDRemanded
- rating in excess of 30 percent for IBS with GERD and hiatal herniaRemanded
Extracted with gpt-5-nano-2025-08-07. Citations are kept only when they appear in the decision text.