The Board denied service connection for herniated nucleus pulposus, L5-S1 and residuals of back injury. The claim for degenerative disc disease, cervical spine, status post decompressive laminectomy was also denied as the evidence did not establish a direct link to service.
The deciding factor: No new and material evidence was presented to reopen the claim for herniated nucleus pulposus, L5-S1 and residuals of back injury. The veteran's current degenerative disc disease, cervical spine, status post decompressive laminectomy is not related to his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative disc disease, cervical spine, herniated nucleus pulposus, L5-S1
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 9, 2004
- Citation
- 0409331
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,177 · Granted: 24% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 0409331.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's current degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine is determined to be a result of his military service, and he is granted entitlement to service connection for this condition.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection for degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine as secondary to his service-connected spinal fusion is dismissed due to a withdrawal request.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that there were duty to assist errors in the VA opinions regarding the Veteran's herniated nucleus pulposus and knee meniscal tears, necessitating remand for additional development.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issues of an initial rating in excess of 20 percent for lumbar strain with degenerative arthritis and an initial rating in excess of 20 percent for degenerative disc disease, cervical spine prior to December 10, 2014, due to a failure by the VA examiner to provide a retrospective opinion that complies with the Board's remand instructions.
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