The Board has determined that there is no competent evidence linking the veteran's current spinal disability, including neck and back pain and numbness in the left arm and leg, to service. The veteran's headaches are also not linked to service.
The deciding factor: There is no continuity of symptomatology for either condition from service.
- Claimed conditions
- neck and back pain, numbness in the left arm and leg, residuals of a spinal injury
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 2, 2006
- Citation
- 0634011
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,177 · 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 0634011.
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 insufficient examination regarding the Veteran's neck and back pain, specifically whether it is related to exposure to Sarin gas or environmental hazards in the Persian Gulf.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided that the VA needs to obtain additional medical records and provide a new opinion regarding the Veteran's spinal injury residuals. The matter will be returned for further development.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for residuals of a spinal injury is being remanded due to the need to obtain private medical records and provide an opinion on whether his condition is related to service.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's spinal injuries, including lumbar and cervical spine DDD, are at least as likely as not related to his military service. As such, the claim for service connection is granted.
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