Neck / cervical spine decisions — 2025

The Board granted an effective date of January 21, 2022, for the award of service connection for PTSD and a rating of 10 percent for right lower extremity radiculopathy (sciatic nerve) effective December 20, 2022.

The Board remands the appeal for additional development, including a retrospective opinion regarding range of motion during flare-ups and requesting evidence pertaining to the Veteran's annual income prior to January 2010.

The Board denied service connection for a cervical spine disorder and remanded claims for congenital absence of left pectoralis major muscle, left Sprengel's deformity, and left arm nerve damage as secondary to left Sprengel's deformity.

The Board denied service connection for a cervical spine disability as there was no evidence of an in-service injury or disease related to active duty, ADT, or IDT.

The Board granted service connection for left knee strain, lumbar disc disease, and cervical spine disability based on evidence supporting an in-service onset of symptoms that have continued to the present.

The Board granted service connection for adjustment disorder with anxiety but denied service connection for sinus condition and neck disability. The issue of entitlement to service connection for undifferentiated connective tissue disease was remanded.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities prior to June 16, 2014, as the evidence did not show that he was precluded from securing or following substantially gainful employment.

The Board restored the 10 percent rating for GERD, denied increased ratings for other conditions, and remanded service connection claims.

The appeal for service connection for cervical spine arthritis, lumbar spine arthritis, traumatic brain injury (TBI), seizure disorder, and erectile dysfunction has been dismissed due to the Veteran's death.

The Board granted an evaluation of 10 percent, but no higher, prior to June 13, 2020, and a 30 percent rating thereafter for the Veteran's arthritis of the cervical spine.

The Board remands the claims for an increased, initial disability rating for service-connected cervical strain with ACDF C6-7 and radiculopathy of the left upper extremity to correct a duty to assist error.

The Board denied increased ratings for the right and left knee conditions but granted separate 10 percent ratings for meniscal conditions associated with both knees. Service connection was also denied for a cervical spine disorder.

The Board granted service connection for several conditions, including OSA, cervical spine condition, left shoulder condition, right shoulder condition, and others, but dismissed appeals for obesity, TMJ, insomnia, left elbow, and right elbow. The Board also denied an earlier effective date for a 70% rating for acquired psychiatric disorder.

The Board denied an initial rating higher than 10 percent for residual scars from basal cell carcinoma and remanded the claim for service connection for a cervical spine disorder.

The Board granted service connection for hypertension but denied service connection for cervical spine, right shoulder, low back, left hip, gastrointestinal, bronchitis, sinusitis disabilities and denied an initial rating in excess of 0 percent for headaches and thyroid disability.

The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include a mood disorder and alcohol abuse disorder, secondary to the Veteran's service-connected disabilities. The other claims for increased ratings were denied.

The Board granted service connection for a lumbar spine disability, a cervical spine disability, and right ear hearing loss but denied service connection for sinusitis. The left ear hearing loss claim was remanded.

The Board remands the claim for a cervical spine disorder to obtain an addendum opinion addressing direct service connection and secondary service connection based on aggravation.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, a neck disability, a left knee disability, and a right ankle disability due to the need for VA examinations.

The Board denied service connection for the veteran's claimed conditions, including APD, respiratory insufficiency, RHL, and cervical and upper extremity radiculopathy, as well as a compensable rating for LHL. The claims were not granted.