The Board found that the Veteran's upper back disability and arthritis of the cervical spine are not related to military service, and denied both claims.
The deciding factor: VA examiners concluded that the Veteran's current disabilities were more likely due to aging, physical demands, or a predisposition to disc disease rather than military service.
- Claimed conditions
- upper back disability, arthritis of the cervical spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 26, 2010
- Citation
- 1007337
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 1007337.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for tinnitus, remanded claims for service connection for an upper back disability and headaches, and remanded the claim for a compensable rating for left recurrent corneal erosion syndrome.
- Granted
The Board granted an evaluation of 10 percent, but no higher, prior to June 13, 2020, and a 30 percent rating thereafter for the Veteran's arthritis of the cervical spine.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for lumbosacral strain, secondary to the Veteran's service-connected bilateral hip and knee disabilities, but denied service connection for an upper back disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for an upper back disability and lower back pain due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
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