Neck / cervical spine decisions — 2025

The Board denied service connection for a right hip disability and remanded claims for service connection for neck, left arm, and right arm disabilities.

The Veteran withdrew his appeals seeking service connection for a right hip disability, a left hip disability, a thoracolumbar spine disability, cervical strain, and coronary artery disease.

The Board remands the service connection claim for a neck disability, to include as having been aggravated by service, due to an inadequate medical opinion.

The Board denied earlier effective dates for the initial ratings of various conditions and denied increased ratings, except for a 30 percent rating for Crohn's disease starting January 13, 2022.

The Board denied an increased rating for a neck disability and right knee strain, and remanded the claims for service connection for a right shoulder disability, sinusitis, and a mental condition due to insufficient evidence regarding active-duty training dates in 2006.

The Board denied increased disability evaluations for right and left ankle sprains, but remanded claims for service connection of cervical spine, lumbar spine, and left ring finger disorders as secondary to service-connected disabilities.

The Board granted service connection for cervical strain, cervicogenic headaches, right wrist sprain, left elbow disability, right knee degenerative arthritis and right knee strain, and left knee strain. However, it denied service connection for diabetes mellitus, type I, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), hypertension, and remanded claims for chronic fatigue syndrome, right forearm carpal tunnel syndrome, left forearm CTS, a right elbow disability, and a left wrist disability.

The Board granted service connection for a cervical spine disorder, thoracolumbar spine disorder, and right shoulder disorder based on the Veteran's in-service symptoms and continuity of symptomatology.

The Board granted service connection for a neck disability and a right knee disability, resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor based on evidence of current disabilities, in-service injuries, and credible testimony regarding continuity of symptomatology.

The Veteran is granted a total disability rating based upon individual unemployability (TDIU) exclusively due to service-connected posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from July 13, 2017, and special monthly compensation (SMC) based on housebound status pursuant to 38 U.S.C. § 1114(s)(1) from the same date.

The Board denied service connection for multiple conditions and denied an initial compensable rating for the veteran's right hip disability with impairment of the thigh and right hip scars.

The Board dismissed the veteran's appeals for earlier effective dates of increased ratings for various conditions, including left knee and ankle disabilities, right knee disability, and cervical strain.

The Board remands the issues of entitlement to an initial increased rating for a left knee strain and a left ankle disability, as well as service connection claims for various conditions due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased evaluations and earlier effective dates, as well as remanded a claim for TDIU.

The Board dismissed the appeals for service connection for various conditions as the notice of disagreement was not filed within a year from the mailing of the rating decisions.

The Board granted an initial rating of 20 percent for asthenopia with dry eye syndrome but denied service connection for anosmia and a cervical spine disability, and dismissed the claim for an increased rating for migraine headaches.

The Board granted service connection for a cervical spine disorder and hypertension as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected lumbosacral strain and associated radiculopathy, but denied service connection for residuals of heat stroke, cerebrovascular accident (stroke), and vision disorder.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased initial ratings and earlier effective dates, finding that the evidence did not support higher ratings or earlier effective dates.

The Board remands the claims for an initial disability rating in excess of 30 percent for persistent depressive disorder, and service connection for lumbosacral strain (back condition) and cervical strain (neck condition), to obtain additional evidence.

The Board denied service connection for cervical degenerative disc disease, cervical degenerative joint disease, and bilateral upper and lower extremity radiculopathy as the probative evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were related to the Veteran's active military service.