The Board of Veterans' Appeals has determined that the veteran's current back disorders, including degenerative disc and joint disease of the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine, as well as lumbar spine spondylolisthesis, were not caused or aggravated by the May 1958 VAMC back surgery. Therefore, the claim for compensation benefits under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 is denied.
The deciding factor: The December 1999 VA examiner concluded that the veteran's current back disorders are a natural progression of his pre-surgery condition and not related to the May 1958 VAMC surgery.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative disc and joint disease of the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine, lumbar spine spondylolisthesis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 14, 2002
- Citation
- 0209839
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 0209839.
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.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the claims for an initial disability rating in excess of 10 percent for lumbar and cervical spine spondylolisthesis as moot because they had already been adjudicated.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the appeal for readjudication due to incomplete compliance with previous remand directives.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's appeal for an increased rating more than 10 percent for lumbar spine spondylolisthesis based on the evidence of record.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remanded the veteran's claims for higher disability ratings for lumbar spine spondylolisthesis and radiculopathy of both lower extremities due to insufficient examination and evaluation.
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