The veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for his cervical spine disability and PTSD have been granted, with the cervical spine claim receiving a 40% evaluation effective December 30, 1996.
The deciding factor: The VA medical evidence shows that the veteran has had chronic neck pain since service, which was diagnosed as degenerative joint disease of the cervical spine with foraminal stenosis. The earlier effective dates were granted based on this established history and diagnosis.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Joint Disease of the Cervical Spine, Foraminal Stenosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- September 18, 2001
- Citation
- 0122716
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 0122716.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board allowed the benefit or issue identified in this decision. Review the original order: other issues in the same appeal may have a different outcome, and this decision does not predict another claim.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's degenerative joint disease of the cervical spine was found to not meet the criteria for a higher disability rating, as it did not result in forward flexion of 15 degrees or less and there was no evidence of favorable ankylosis of the entire cervical spine.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for chronic fatigue syndrome, gastroesophageal reflux disease, and chronic sinusitis. However, it granted an increased disability rating of 30 percent for left upper extremity radiculopathy.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's GERD was granted a 60 percent disability rating, and the June 15, 2020 VA Form 10182 for service connection claims was accepted as timely due to good cause shown.
- Granted
The Veteran's low back disability was restored to a 20 percent rating effective February 24, 2022. The other issues were denied.
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