The VA has determined that the veteran's cervical spine disability does not warrant a rating in excess of 20 percent since January 1, 2001.
The deciding factor: The veteran's cervical spine disability did not meet the criteria for higher ratings due to lack of severe symptoms or incapacitating episodes as required by Diagnostic Codes 5293 and 5243 respectively.
- Claimed conditions
- Cervical Spine Degenerative Disc Disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- December 27, 2006
- Citation
- 0639949
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 0639949.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for a left hip disability, cervical spine degenerative disc disease, and thoracolumbar degenerative disc disease with arthritis. The right hip disability was denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for various equipment purchases and home modifications under the independent living plan through VA’s VR&E program is remanded due to incomplete documentation, lack of a Vocational Rehabilitation evaluation, and unavailability of certain records. The AOJ must ensure all relevant documents are obtained and associate them with the claims file.
- Granted
The Board has determined that new and material evidence was presented to reopen the claim of service connection for a cervical spine disability. The Veteran's current diagnosis of cervical spine degenerative disc disease is considered etiologically related to his active duty service, with more weight given to the opinion from Dr. B. than the VA examination.
- Denied
The veteran's claims for increased evaluations and a total rating based on individual unemployability were denied. The reduction of the evaluation for his right foot ganglion cyst excision scar residuals from 10 percent to noncompensable effective as April 1, 2006 was found improper.
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