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
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- 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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0028485.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: 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.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and dismissed all other appeals related to various joint conditions.
- Whole decision: 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.
- Whole 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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