The Board finds that the veteran does not have degenerative joint disease of the hips attributable to his service. However, there is a balance of positive and negative evidence regarding whether the veteran's degenerative joint disease of the cervical spine is related to his service. The Board concludes in favor of the veteran, finding that his cervical spine condition is more likely than not incurred during service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner opined that the cervical spondylosis and mild degenerative arthritis of both hips were not likely related to a service-connected disability, but noted that without any supportive documentation of chronic neck problems from the initial injury while in active duty as well as documentation of injury to the neck at that time, the etiology of a neck disability was unable to be determined without resorting to speculation.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Joint Disease of the Hips, Degenerative Joint Disease of the Cervical Spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 11, 2008
- Citation
- 0819174
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 0819174.
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 Veteran's degenerative joint disease of the cervical spine was found to not meet the criteria for a higher disability rating, as it did not result in forward flexion of 15 degrees or less and there was no evidence of favorable ankylosis of the entire cervical spine.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for chronic fatigue syndrome, gastroesophageal reflux disease, and chronic sinusitis. However, it granted an increased disability rating of 30 percent for left upper extremity radiculopathy.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's GERD was granted a 60 percent disability rating, and the June 15, 2020 VA Form 10182 for service connection claims was accepted as timely due to good cause shown.
- Granted
The Veteran's low back disability was restored to a 20 percent rating effective February 24, 2022. The other issues were denied.
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