The Board finds that the veteran did not suffer additional disability as a result of VA surgery, and any such disability was due to natural progression rather than negligence or error by VA.
The deciding factor: Medical opinions indicate no evidence of carelessness, negligence, lack of proper skill, error in judgment, or similar instance of fault on the part of VA with regard to the surgeries.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine with radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 16, 2006
- Citation
- 0617776
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,012 · Granted: 24% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0617776.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for compensation under the provisions of Title 38, United States Code, � 1151 for degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine with radiculopathy is being remanded due to a need for further development and consideration.
- Remanded (sent back)
The appeal was remanded to correct the legal basis for the claim and ensure proper notification.
- Remanded (sent back)
The veteran seeks compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 for degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine with radiculopathy, alleging medical negligence by VA doctors during a left C6/C7 hemilaminectomy and nerve root decompression surgery in July 2001 at the Durham, North Carolina VA Medical Center. The claim is remanded due to incomplete records from SSA and the VA Medical Center.
- 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.
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