Neck / cervical spine decisions — 2025

The Board remands the claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, a lumbar spine disability, a cervical spine disability, and a left knee disability due to insufficient evidence.

The Board granted service connection for cervical spine disability, resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor.

The Board granted service connection for a disorder of the feet, claimed as status post bunionectomy and status post gallbladder removal. The claims for tinnitus, PTSD, and other back, bladder, GERD, hysterectomy, neck, shoulder, hip, knee, and plantar fasciitis disabilities were denied or remanded.

The Board denied service connection for hypertension, sinusitis, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), a cervical spine disability, a bilateral ankle disability, a bilateral knee disability, and a bilateral shoulder disability as there was no evidence of current diagnoses or medical nexus to active service.

The Board granted service connection for a left breast mass condition and denied increased ratings for a trunk scar above the right breast and bilateral hearing loss. Several claims were remanded.

The appeal for service connection for sleep disorder is dismissed, and the Veteran's claims for service connection for alcohol use disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, somatic symptom disorder, bilateral hearing loss, and lower back strain are denied. The Board granted a 70 percent rating for PTSD.

The Board granted service connection for bilateral pes planus and tinnitus, while denying service connection for various other conditions including acne, right wrist disability, back disability, neck disability, left hand disability, right knee disability, left knee disability, right hip disability, left hip disability, migraines headaches, traumatic brain injury (TBI), sinusitis, sleep apnea, and hearing loss.

The Board granted a 10 percent rating for hypertension, but denied higher ratings for scars of the left and right thigh, plantar fasciitis of the left foot, hip and knee osteoarthritis, and service connection for various conditions including erectile dysfunction, lumbar spine pain, TBI, and cervical spine pain.

The Board granted service connection for cervical neck condition, sleep apnea, and restless leg syndrome but dismissed the claim for lumbosacral (low back arthritis) due to a previous favorable decision by the AOJ. The appeal was also denied for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The appeal for service connection for cervical strain with degenerative disease and degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine was dismissed as it was not timely filed.

The Board denied service connection for cervical spine, lumbosacral spine, left lower extremity paresthesia, left upper extremity paresthesia, acquired psychiatric disorder, and headaches as they were not shown to be related to the Veteran's military service.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for cervical spine strain, left hand strain, and right hand strain due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and granted service connection for right foot metatarsalgia, while remanding the other claims for further development.

The Board remands the claim for an initial rating in excess of 40 percent for lumbosacral spondylosis with lumbar strain to obtain a retrospective opinion on flare-ups and further examination.

The Board remands the issue of entitlement to TDIU prior to January 18, 2017, due to inextricably intertwined issues regarding service connection for various disabilities.

The Board denied service connection for a left shoulder disability, neck disability, right wrist disability, and left wrist disability due to the Veteran's lack of credibility in relating his history of these disabilities through lay statements on account of material inconsistent statements.

The Board denied entitlement to a TDIU on an extraschedular basis prior to April 22, 2014, as the Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not preclude him from obtaining and retaining substantially gainful employment.

The Board granted an initial 10 percent rating for a left anterior cervical scar and an effective date of November 29, 2018 for the award of service connection.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, to include generalized anxiety disorder; a cervical spine disability; bursitis in the right hand and fingers; and bilateral plantar fasciitis due to a duty to assist error.

The Board granted service connection for cervical spine degenerative disease, cervical strain, left upper extremity radiculopathy, right upper extremity radiculopathy, and migraine and occipital headaches. Service connection was denied for bilateral pes planus, papillary thyroid carcinoma, status post partial left thyroidectomy, and left foot hallux valgus.