The Board found that the Veteran's cervical and lumbar spine disabilities were not incurred in or aggravated by active service, including due to herbicide exposure. As such, service connection was denied.
The deciding factor: The Veteran did not have a disease listed under 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(e) that is presumed to be associated with herbicide exposure and his cervical and lumbar spine disabilities were not shown by competent clinical evidence of record to be causally related to active service.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative spondylosis of the lumbar spine, Herniated nucleus pulposus status post fusion of the cervical spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 14, 2009
- Citation
- 0930648
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 0930648.
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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for residuals of a right ankle fracture, left knee degenerative arthritis, and degenerative spondylosis of the lumbar spine.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's low back disability and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy have been denied as the evidence does not meet the criteria for higher ratings under the applicable rating criteria.
- Denied
The Veteran's degenerative spondylosis of the lumbar spine is currently rated at 10 percent, but does not meet the criteria for a higher rating as it does not result in forward flexion limited to 30 degrees or less, nor does it involve ankylosis.
- Granted
The Veteran's evaluations for degenerative spondylosis of the lumbar spine, right lower extremity radiculopathy, and left lower extremity radiculopathy have been restored to their previous levels.
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