BVA decisions by condition
Thumb impairment: BVA grant rates and what wins
From 2017 to 2026, the Board of Veterans' Appeals decided a thumb impairment issue in 1,306 decisions. It granted the thumb impairment issue in 17.5% of them, close to the 19.4% grant rate for all conditions, denied it in 40.6%, and remanded it in 41.5%. Counting only decisions on the merits (granted or denied), 30.2% were granted.
Decisions
1,306
2017–2026
Granted
17.5%
All conditions: 19.4%
Granted on the merits
30.2%
Granted ÷ (granted + denied)
Remanded
41.5%
Denied: 40.6%
Thumb impairment outcomes by year
| Year | Issues decided | Granted | Denied | Remanded | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 71 | 12.7% | 35.2% | 45.1% | 7.0% |
| 2018 | 104 | 23.1% | 24.0% | 51.9% | 1.0% |
| 2019 | 139 | 26.6% | 30.9% | 36.7% | 5.8% |
| 2020 | 171 | 12.3% | 44.4% | 42.1% | 1.2% |
| 2021 | 197 | 17.8% | 41.6% | 38.1% | 2.5% |
| 2022 | 185 | 14.1% | 39.5% | 45.9% | 0.5% |
| 2023 | 168 | 12.5% | 35.1% | 51.2% | 1.2% |
| 2024 | 194 | 19.6% | 44.3% | 34.5% | 1.5% |
| 2025 | 166 | 21.1% | 48.2% | 29.5% | 1.2% |
| 2026 | 79 | 15.2% | 48.1% | 35.4% | 1.3% |
Each row counts issues (each condition the Board decided), so the shares add up to 100%. Other: dismissed, withdrawn or no clear outcome. Years with fewer than 50 issues are left out.
Evidence in granted and denied thumb impairment decisions
For each kind of supporting evidence: how often the Board granted the thumb impairment issue on the merits when the decision mentioned it, compared with decisions that did not. These are associations, not causes, and evidence is recorded per decision, not per issue.
| In the record | Decisions | Granted when present | When absent | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Positive nexus opinion | 128 | 50.5% | 27.3% | +23.3 pts |
| Treating physician opinion | 45 | 51.4% | 29.1% | +22.3 pts |
| Favorable VA exam | 156 | 48.4% | 26.7% | +21.7 pts |
| Claimed as secondary | 66 | 45.8% | 29.7% | +16.2 pts |
| Private medical opinion | 313 | 35.6% | 28.2% | +7.5 pts |
| Combat service | 53 | 36.4% | 29.9% | +6.5 pts |
| Lay statement | 1,066 | 28.9% | 37.5% | −8.6 pts |
- The Board applied the benefit-of-the-doubt rule (38 CFR 3.102) in 56.8% of the decisions that granted thumb impairment.
- The Board found the veteran's statements credible in 31.9% of grants and 16.0% of denials.
Negative evidence in the record
An unfavorable exam or a negative nexus opinion often sits in the same record as favorable evidence, and the Board weighs them against each other. So these rows show how often thumb impairment was still granted when the record contained the negative item, not that the item helped.
| In the record | Decisions | Granted when present | When absent | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Negative nexus opinion | 473 | 27.1% | 32.0% | −4.9 pts |
| Unfavorable VA exam | 982 | 27.7% | 43.7% | −16.0 pts |
Why the Board granted or denied thumb impairment
Most common reasons in grants
- Current diagnosis established23
- Painful motion warrants minimum compensable rating5
- Criteria for service connection met4
- Criteria for 10 percent rating met4
- Continuity of symptomatology since service4
- New and material evidence submitted3
- Painful motion of left thumb3
- Service connection established3
Most common reasons in denials
- Preponderance of the evidence against the claim35
- No current diagnosis31
- No gap between thumb pad and fingers24
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service21
- No in-service complaints, treatment or diagnosis20
- Current diagnosis established17
- Already at the maximum schedular rating14
- No gap of more than two inches between thumb pad and fingers14
Numbers are decisions that gave the reason. Reasons are short phrases extracted by AI from each decision; common wordings of the same reason are grouped. Benefit of the doubt is reported above.
Recent thumb impairment decisions
Granted
Favorable finding from March 2021 rating decision regarding current disability and in-service complaints.; Private medical opinion found condition at least as likely as not related to cumulative biomechanical strain from in-service duties.; Evidence found to be in equipoise, resolving doubt in Veteran's favor.
Onset during service; Positive private nexus opinion; Inadequate VA exam
Functional impairment of right thumb reported by Veteran; History of right thumb internal repair noted on separation examination; Benefit of the doubt applied due to incomplete records on timing of surgery
Denied
No evidence of in-service injury in STRs; Contradictory statements regarding injury mechanism; Lack of credible evidence of injury during IADT
No current diagnosis found; No objective evidence of functional impairment; Evidence persuasively against service connection
No in-service treatment or mention of left thumb injury in service treatment records.; VA examiner opined less likely than not related to service.; Significant delay in seeking treatment for the left thumb injury.
Rules that apply to thumb impairment claims
- 38 CFR 3.303
Principles of service connection
Read it in VA Law Explorer - 38 CFR 3.310
Secondary service connection and aggravation
Read it in VA Law Explorer - 38 CFR 3.102
Reasonable doubt (benefit of the doubt)
Read it in VA Law Explorer
Research your thumb impairment case
Narrow by year, judge, evidence or secondary condition, read the decisions, and export a research memo.
How these numbers are calculated
- Rates count decisions in which the Board decided a thumb impairment issue, by the outcome of that issue. Other issues in the same decision can have different outcomes.
- “Granted on the merits” leaves out remands and dismissals. “All conditions” is the grant share across every condition issue in the data.
- The data comes from CaseScribe's AI extraction of public BVA decisions (2017–2026) and can contain errors. It is updated automatically as new decisions are added.