The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection and an increased rating for his cervical spine disability, finding that new evidence did not establish a current disability or link it to service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners concluded that there was no medical evidence linking the current DDD of the cervical spine to service or the service-connected low back disability.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD) of the cervical spine
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 22, 2010
- Citation
- 1010705
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 1010705.
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 a rating in excess of 20 percent for degenerative disc disease (DDD) of the cervical spine and a rating in excess of 10 percent for radiculopathy of the left lower extremity prior to June 3, 2022.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for an increased rating and TDIU due to inadequate examination reports in the previous decisions. The Veteran needs a new VA examination to assess his cervical spine disability, including range of motion during flare-ups and repeated use.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issues of entitlement to an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent prior to December 26, 2007, and in excess of 20 percent thereafter for degenerative disc disease (DDD) of the cervical spine due to inadequate explanation of denial of higher evaluations.
- Denied
The Veteran's appeal for a higher rating for his lumbosacral spine disability and TDIU prior to April 25, 2017 was denied. The Board found that the evidence did not show he was unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment due to service-connected disabilities.
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