The veteran's residuals of a T-12 compression fracture with deformity do not warrant a rating higher than 20 percent, and his cervical degenerative disc disease is not related to service.
The deciding factor: The preponderance of the evidence indicates that the veteran's cervical disorder is not related to an in-service injury or disease.
- Claimed conditions
- Residuals of a T-12 compression fracture with deformity, Cervical degenerative disc disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 21, 2009
- Citation
- 0902143
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,987 · Granted: 15% (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 0902143.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's cervical spine disability, including right and left upper extremity radiculopathies, is granted as service connected. The issues of right and left upper extremity radiculopathy are remanded for further examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to inconsistencies in the medical evidence regarding her arm symptoms and radiculopathy. The VA will obtain a report of the May 2024 nerve conduction study and schedule an examination to determine if she has a right and/or left arm disability, including radiculopathy, that is related to her cervical spine disability.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for PTSD, cervical degenerative disc disease, lumbar spine degenerative disc disease, and radiculopathies of the upper and lower extremities. A 30 percent rating was also granted for vertigo associated with TBI.
- Granted
The Veteran's PTSD was granted a total disability rating from August 22, 2019, and special monthly compensation at the housebound rate from September 30, 2019. The Veteran is also granted individual unemployability based on service-connected disabilities from December 1, 2013.
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