The Board found that the veteran's disabilities of the spine, including cervical spondylosis and degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, were not incurred in or aggravated by active service.
The deciding factor: There was no contemporaneous evidence of a spinal disability during service, and the VA examiner could not determine if the veteran suffered an acceleration injury to his neck during the 1965 fall that occurred in service. The weight of the evidence established that the appellant's disabilities of the spine were not present in service.
- Claimed conditions
- arthritis of the spine, degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, cervical spondylosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- March 6, 2006
- Citation
- 0606413
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,592 · Granted: 19% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0606413.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's hypertension, left knee patellofemoral syndrome, and right knee patellofemoral syndrome have been granted service connection as secondary to his service-connected disabilities. The lumbar spine disability has also been granted but the effective date is not specified.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for various conditions and ratings have been dismissed due to the Veteran withdrawing from appellate consideration in December 2025.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal was dismissed due to their death during the pendency of the appeal.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection and increased rating for various conditions, including allergic rhinitis, sleep apnea, degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, lower extremity radiculopathies, and left lower extremity radiculopathy with foot drop. The issues include determining if these conditions are related to service or other factors.
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