The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for an upper thoracic spine condition, finding no evidence of a nexus between the condition and his military service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner opined that there was no evidence of continuity of care or chronicity to state that the veteran's current thoracic spine condition is related to service, and it would be mere speculation without such evidence. The private physicians' opinions lacked a rationale based on a comprehensive review of the claims file.
- Claimed conditions
- upper thoracic spine condition
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 16, 2009
- Citation
- 0902052
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
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