The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for degenerative joint disease of the cervical spine, as there is no competent medical evidence establishing a causal connection between the in-service muscle spasms and the current disability.
The deciding factor: There is no evidence supporting a causal link between the in-service muscle spasms and the current degenerative disc disease and disc herniation diagnosed several years later.
- Claimed conditions
- 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
- February 11, 2009
- Citation
- 0905035
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 remands the claim for a cervical spine disability to obtain an adequate medical opinion addressing both causation and aggravation.
- Denied
The Board denied higher ratings for the Veteran's knee and cervical spine disabilities, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating under applicable criteria.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected degenerative joint disease of the cervical spine has prevented him from securing and maintaining substantially gainful occupation, and he is granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) and special monthly compensation (SMC) at the housebound rate.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not preclude him from securing and following any substantially gainful employment prior to June 14, 2022.
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