The Veteran's degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine is not service-connected as it was not incurred or aggravated during her active duty service. The Board finds that the condition is more likely related to a motor vehicle accident in 1996, which occurred after she left military service.
The deciding factor: The Veteran sustained an acute injury to her neck during service but did not experience symptoms until a subsequent motor vehicle accident outside of service.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- April 14, 2011
- Citation
- 1114706
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 1114706.
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: Denied
The Board denied service connection for degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine, finding that there is no nexus between the current disability and active duty service.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to a duty to assist error, specifically regarding whether the Veteran's current conditions are aggravated by his service-connected DDD of the lumbosacral spine. The AOJ is required to obtain new medical opinions addressing this issue.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for cervical and lumbar spine disabilities prior to October 22, 2008 are being remanded due to the need for additional retrospective medical opinions.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection of degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine, finding that the evidence did not support a link between the condition and service.
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