The Board found that the veteran's quadriplegia was not caused by VA treatment and denied his claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151.
The deciding factor: VA medical opinions determined there was no causal relationship between the May 1991 cervical spine surgery and the veteran's current neurological deficit, concluding that the progression of severe spondylotic myelopathy was more likely than not due to the disease's natural history rather than the surgery.
- Claimed conditions
- quadriplegia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 2, 2004
- Citation
- 0429627
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 0429627.
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 due to a need to associate certain FTCA files with the Veteran's claims file.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for quadriplegia to correct duty to assist errors, including obtaining outstanding VA treatment records and an adequate medical opinion.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to an inadequate medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's quadriplegia was proximately caused and aggravated by his service-connected lumbar spine disability.
- Denied
The Veteran's quadriplegia, neurogenic bowel, and neurogenic bladder are not considered to be a result of VA carelessness, negligence, or error. The Board found that the additional disability was caused by inadequate care provided by the group home after discharge from VA facilities.
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