The veteran's cervical spine disability is currently rated at 60 percent, and the Board has determined that a higher rating is not warranted based on the evidence of record.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations and medical records do not provide objective evidence of spinal cord involvement or neurological deficits sufficient to warrant an increased rating beyond 60 percent.
- Claimed conditions
- cervical disc degeneration, arthritis, residual right shoulder strain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 60%
- Decision date
- July 20, 2005
- Citation
- 0519735
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 0519735.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for cervical disc degeneration as secondary to his service-connected lumbosacral spondylosis with stenosis, based on a lack of competent evidence linking the two conditions.
- Granted
The Board granted an initial disability rating of 20 percent for cervical disc degeneration, but no higher.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for cervical disc degeneration and spondylolisthesis as there was no evidence of an in-service injury, disease, or event, nor any continuity of symptomatology since service. The VA examiner opined that the conditions were less likely than not related to the veteran's military service.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for cervical disc degeneration and left cervical radiculopathy, finding that these conditions are secondary to the Veteran's right shoulder gunshot wound.
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