The Board denied service connection for cervical and thoracic spine injuries with degenerative disc disease, finding that the appellant's current conditions were not incurred or aggravated by his military service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found no evidence of a nexus between the in-service golf cart injury to the back and the present cervical and thoracic spine disorders.
- Claimed conditions
- cervical spine injury with degenerative disc disease, thoracic spine injury with degenerative disc disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- September 28, 2010
- Citation
- 1036786
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 1036786.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to obtain a new VA examination and to consider the possibility of additional private treatment records. The claim for an increased rating must be reconsidered with consideration of all pertinent evidence and legal authority.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for an adequate VA examination and opinion to determine if there is a 50 percent probability or greater that any currently diagnosed cervical spine disorder is etiologically related to service, including complaints of back pain therein. The appellant's reports of continuity of symptomatology in the thoracic and cervical spine region since service should be considered.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The appeal is remanded to the RO for additional development, including a new VA examination that accurately addresses the medical evidence of record and considers whether the Veteran's lay statements regarding continuity of symptomatology support a finding of a nexus between the in-service golf cart injury to the back and his present cervical and thoracic spine disorders.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
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