The Board has reopened the veteran's claims for service connection for cervical spine and upper back disabilities, finding that new evidence submitted since the January 1972 rating decision is sufficient to reopen these claims. The RO will now proceed with a determination on whether service connection should be granted.
The deciding factor: New evidence received subsequent to the January 1972 rating decision relates to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the veteran's claim for cervical spine and upper back disabilities, raising a reasonable possibility of substantiating these claims.
- Claimed conditions
- cervical spine disability, upper back disability
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 10, 2004
- Citation
- 0412123
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 0412123.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 20 percent disability rating for left and right lower extremity radiculopathy from April 3, 2023 onward, but denied higher ratings prior to that date. Service connection was also granted for alcohol use disorder as secondary to PTSD with traumatic brain injury.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeals for service connection for a bilateral knee disability, bilateral upper and lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, lumbar spine disability, cervical spine disability, and chronic pain syndrome due to untimely notices of disagreement.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for a cervical spine disability and a thoracolumbar spine disability, finding that the Veteran's current disabilities are causally or etiologically due to his time in service.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for multiple disabilities, including cervical spine and thoracolumbar spine disabilities, radiculopathies, a bladder disability, headaches, a left knee disability, an acquired psychiatric disorder, and bilateral conjunctivitis. The Board also granted entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disability.
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