The veteran's claim for an increased evaluation of residuals of a fracture of the right little finger was denied, and his claim for service connection for degenerative changes of the cervical and thoracolumbar spine was also denied. The Board found that there is no evidence of aggravation beyond its natural progression.
The deciding factor: The veteran's degenerative changes in the cervical and thoracolumbar spine were determined to be secondary to Scheuermann's disease, which had been present prior to service.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative changes of the cervical spine, Degenerative changes of the thoracolumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 3, 2002
- Citation
- 0207291
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 0207291.
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.
- Denied
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for degenerative changes of the cervical spine and migraines (claimed as headaches) as secondary to a degenerative change in the cervical spine.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for a new VA examination to determine the current level of severity of the Veteran's disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The claim for an increased rating for the service-connected cervical spine disability is remanded to correct a duty to assist error that occurred prior to the May 2022 rating decision on appeal.
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