The Board has determined that the veteran's cervical spine and lumbar spine disabilities, as well as his right arm/hand tremors, are related to service or service-connected conditions. The left leg disability is not separately service connected.
The deciding factor: Medical evidence supports a link between the veteran's current spinal conditions and an in-service fall from a tank, while the right arm/hand tremor is secondary to his organic brain syndrome.
- Claimed conditions
- cervical spine degenerative joint and disc disease, lumbar spine degenerative joint and disc disease, right arm/hand tremors, left leg numbness and weakness
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 21, 2005
- Citation
- 0531545
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 0531545.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied increased ratings for the Veteran's cervical spine degenerative joint and disc disease, upper thoracic spine myofascial strain, and left elbow strain and triceps enthesophyte disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's appeal for an earlier effective date for service-connected right shoulder, left shoulder, and cervical spine disabilities, as the evidence showed that these conditions arose on December 21, 2016.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including lumbar spine degenerative joint and disc disease, osteoarthritis of the right hand second digit and thumb, asthma, left lower extremity radiculopathy, right lower extremity radiculopathy, hypertension, hiatal hernia with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), prostate cancer with prostatectomy, bilateral hearing loss, erectile dysfunction, right thigh residual scar, right index finger scar, and abdomen scar, have rendered him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment. As a result, the Board has granted TDIU.
- Denied
The Veteran's lumbar spine disability, which resulted in a 40 percent rating, did not meet the criteria for a higher rating as it did not result in unfavorable ankylosis of the entire thoracolumbar spine or the entire spine, or functional equivalent thereof.
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