Citation Nr: 21022178 Decision Date: 04/15/21 Archive Date: 04/15/21 DOCKET NO. 17-00 773 DATE: April 15, 2021 ORDER Service connection for right hand arthritis is denied. REMANDED A rating higher than 10 percent for residuals of open reduction internal fixation status post right ulna and radius fracture (right wrist disability) is remanded. FINDING OF FACT A current diagnosis of right hand arthritis is not shown by the evidence of record and there is no indication the Veteran has orthopedic right hand symptoms that result in functional impairment of earning capacity. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for right hand arthritis have not been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5107; 38 C.F.R. § 3.310. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran had active duty service from June 2005 to May 2007 with service in Iraq between December 2005 and May 2006. These matters come to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in September 2012. Testimony from the Veteran’s July 2019 hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge is of record. The claims were remanded by the Board in November 2019. The Board also remanded claims for service connection for residuals of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and entitlement to a rating higher than 20 percent for right elbow strain with slight osteophyte. An August 2020 rating decision granted service connection for TBI with unspecified neurocognitive disorder and granted an increased rating of 30 percent rating for the right elbow disability for the entire period of the appeal. Since the Veteran had specifically requested a 30 percent rating for that disability, the RO noted that the assignment of the higher rating represented a full grant and resolution of the appeal concerning that claim. Those issues are no longer before the Board for appellate review. 1. Service connection for right hand arthritis The Veteran claims that he has right hand arthritis secondary to service-connected disabilities involving the right upper extremity. Service connection may be established on a secondary basis for a disability which is proximately due to, or aggravated by, service-connected disease or injury. 38 C.F.R. § 3.310. Establishing service connection on a secondary basis requires evidence showing (1) that a current disability exists and (2) that the current disability was either (a) proximately caused by or (b) proximately aggravated by a service-connected disability. Allen v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 439, 448 (1995) (en banc). The preponderance of the evidence is against the claim. A current disability is the cornerstone of a claim for VA disability compensation and in the absence of proof of a present disability, there can be no valid claim. See Degmetich v. Brown, 104 F. 3d 1328 (1997) (holding that requiring the existence of a present disability for VA compensation purposes cannot be considered arbitrary and therefore the decision based on that interpretation must be affirmed); see also Gilpin v. West, 155 F.3d 1353 (Fed. Cir. 1998); Brammer v. Derwinski, 3 Vet. App. 223, 225 (1992). The Board remanded this claim in November 2019 to schedule the Veteran for a VA examination. The examiner was asked to indicate whether the Veteran suffers from a right hand disorder and if there was no current diagnosed disability involving the right hand, to indicate whether the Veteran has functional impairment of earning capacity as a result of the right hand symptomatology that is distinct from the already service-connected right upper extremity disabilities. The examiner who conducted a November 2019 VA hand and finger conditions Disability Benefits Questionnaire (DBQ) determined that the Veteran did not have right hand arthritis and reported that range of motion was normal without pain. The Veteran was also able to perform repetitive use testing with no additional functional loss or range of motion afterwards and the examiner indicated that pain, weakness, fatigability and incoordination would not significantly limit functional ability with repeated use over a period of time. Without evidence of a current diagnosis of right hand arthritis or evidence of orthopedic right hand symptoms that result in functional impairment of earning capacity, service connection is not warranted, and the claim must be denied. See Saunders v. Wilkie, 886 F.3d 1356, 1368 (Fed. Cir. 2018). REASONS FOR REMAND 1. A rating higher than 10 percent for residuals of open reduction internal fixation status post right ulna and radius fracture (right wrist disability). As noted above, the Veteran reported numbness, tingling pain, stabbing needle pain, and a warm feeling on the right elbow, hand and wrist during the November 2019 VA hand and finger conditions DBQ as well as during a November 2019 VA wrist conditions DBQ. The Board finds that neurological examination should be conducted to determine whether the reported neurological symptoms are associated with the post-operative right ulna and radius fracture disability. The results of a electromyograph and nerve conduction study conducted in 2012, which were reportedly accessible under the tools menu under imaging, should also be obtained. The matter is REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain the results of an electromyograph and nerve conduction study conducted by VA in 2012. 2. Schedule the Veteran for a VA neurological examination of the right upper extremity. The claims file should be reviewed by the examiner. All appropriate tests and studies should be conducted, and the results reported in detail. Following review of the claims file and examination of the Veteran, the examiner should indicate whether neurological symptoms in the right upper extremity are associated with or a maturation of the open reduction internal fixation status post right ulna and radius fracture disability. The examiner should explain why or why not. 3. If the claim remains denied, issue a supplemental statement of the case. K. A. BANFIELD Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board D. Van Wambeke, Counsel The Board’s decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.