The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for arthritis of the right knee, cervical and dorsal/thoracic spine as secondary to his service-connected lumbar spine disability, and an increased evaluation for degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine. The claim for a total rating based on individual unemployability was not addressed in this decision.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there was no competent medical evidence linking the veteran's currently diagnosed cervical and dorsal/thoracic spine arthritis to his service-connected degenerative disc disease of the lumbosacral spine, either on the basis of causation or aggravation. The claim for service connection secondary to a service-connected disability was thus denied.
- Claimed conditions
- arthritis of the right knee, arthritis of the cervical spine, arthritis of the dorsal/thoracic spine
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- October 30, 2000
- Citation
- 0028485
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0028485.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for PTSD, major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, insomnia, unspecified psychosis, arthritis of the lumbar spine, degenerative disc disease, multilevel spinal stenosis, and arthritis of the cervical spine and degenerative disc disease. The diagnoses are linked to in-service physical assaults.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and dismissed all other appeals related to various joint conditions.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for arthritis of the right and left knees, finding that it is at least as likely as not that these conditions developed due to the Veteran's active military service.,No new evidence or exposure basis was provided in this decision.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for a cervical spine disability including arthritis of the cervical spine, and herniated nucleus pulposus of cervical spine secondary to his service-connected lumbosacral strain with intervertebral disc syndrome.
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