The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for degenerative disease of the thoracic spine, finding that it was not incurred or aggravated in service and is not proximately due to his service-connected residuals of gunshot wound, Muscle Group II, with compound comminuted fracture of the sternum.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner concluded that there was no relationship between the service connected gunshot wound residuals and the current degenerative disease of the thoracic spine, which he attributed to the aging process. The veteran's claim for secondary service connection was denied as well.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative disease of the thoracic spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 29, 2004
- Citation
- 0420763
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 0420763.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development to determine if the veteran's current thoracic spine condition is related to his service, including obtaining records of his VA treatment and having a specialist review his medical history.
- Denied
The Board found that the veteran's back disability is not proximately due to or the result of his service-connected right ankle disability.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
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