The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including arthritis of the cervical spine and disabilities related to diabetes mellitus. The effective date was not assigned as there were no prior claims or evidence of treatment showing an increase in severity.
The deciding factor: There is no evidence of a claim for an increased rating for the cervical spine prior to November 2, 2007, nor any lay or medical evidence of an increase in severity prior to that date. The Veteran's service records do not indicate he served in Vietnam and there was no herbicide exposure during his service.
- Claimed conditions
- arthritis of the cervical spine, diabetes mellitus (DM), left foot ulcer, bilateral eye disability including retinopathy, rapid heartbeat, loss of teeth
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 28, 2010
- Citation
- 1048135
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 1048135.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeal for compensation under 38 USC § 1151 for loss of teeth, and the appeal is dismissed.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for PTSD, major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, insomnia, unspecified psychosis, arthritis of the lumbar spine, degenerative disc disease, multilevel spinal stenosis, and arthritis of the cervical spine and degenerative disc disease. The diagnoses are linked to in-service physical assaults.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and dismissed all other appeals related to various joint conditions.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the Veteran's appeal requests as they were not timely filed, and no good cause was shown for the late filing.
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