Neck / cervical spine decisions — 2025

The Board remands the Veteran's claims for service connection to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors.

The Board denied service connection for depression, a lumbar spine condition, and a cervical spine condition. The Veteran's claims for an earlier effective date for generalized anxiety disorder with panic disorder and tinnitus were also denied. Additionally, the Board denied ratings in excess of 70 percent for the service-connected generalized anxiety disorder with panic disorder, service connection for vitamin D deficiency, and increased ratings for various knee conditions.

The Board granted effective dates of September 27, 2017, for the award of service connection for lumbar degenerative disc disease with ankylosis spondylitis and cervical degenerative disc disease with ankylosis spondylitis, left hip arthritis, and renal cell carcinoma. The decision also granted a 10 percent disability rating for hypertension and a TDIU on and after December 4, 2018.

The Board denied an earlier effective date for lumbar laminectomy scar residuals, restored the 30 percent rating for nephrectomy scar residuals, and denied a compensable rating for lumbar laminectomy scar residuals. The cervical spine claims were remanded.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for right hip strain and cervical spine condition as there was no evidence of an in-service injury or disease, and no current disability related to these conditions.

The Board granted service connection for depressive disorder with anxious distress, effective February 18, 2022, and granted a 20 percent rating for the lumbar spine disability from March 6, 2017 to June 4, 2018, and again from July 27, 2021 to May 5, 2022.

The Board denied service connection for respiratory disability beyond bronchitis with bronchospasm and bilateral hearing loss, but remanded claims for neck, sleep, low back, and right index finger disabilities.

The Board denied service connection for a low back disability, neck disability, and flat foot as the evidence did not support a nexus between these conditions and the Veteran's active military service.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a cervical spine condition due to the lack of evidence showing a current disability or persistent symptoms.

The Board dismissed all claims for service connection as moot, having already adjudicated them in a different docket.

The claims for service connection and increased rating are remanded to obtain additional medical opinions that address the issues of secondary causation and aggravation, as well as the impact of medication on the severity of the Veteran's lumbosacral strain.

The Board denied service connection for a cervical spine disability and denied increased ratings for left and right knee instability, but granted an evaluation of 20 percent from April 9, 2012 for degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for a cervical spine or neck disability and left ankle disability for additional development, as the prior VA examination was found to be inadequate.

The Board granted service connection for left posterior cervical sebaceous cyst excision scar residuals and remanded the claims for other disabilities related to herbicide exposure.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral eye condition, flatfoot, and cervical spine disability as the evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were related to the Veteran's active service.

The Board dismissed the Veteran's appeal for not timely submitting a Notice of Disagreement (NOD) within one year from the date of the mailing of an adverse decision.

The Board remands the claims for higher initial ratings for cervical spine, bilateral shoulder, and left knee disabilities to correct pre-decisional duty-to-assist errors.

The Board remands the claim for further development, including obtaining a consent form and full text of March 2013 operation records to determine if informed consent was given.

The Board granted an earlier effective date of September 15, 2005, for the award of service connection for lumbar spine condition, left lumbar radiculopathy, and cervical spine condition.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities result in actual loss of use of the lower extremities, thus granting eligibility for financial assistance to purchase an automobile or other conveyance.