The Board found that the Veteran's current thoracolumbar and cervical spine disabilities are not related to his service-connected bilateral knee disability, and thus denied both claims.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence did not support a finding of secondary service connection for the Veteran's thoracolumbar and cervical spine disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- Thoracolumbar spine (back) disability, Cervical spine (neck) disability
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- August 25, 2011
- Citation
- 1131218
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 1131218.
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 the Veteran's claim for service connection for a cervical spine disability with left upper extremity radiculopathy, finding that there was no evidence of an in-service injury or chronic condition. The Board concluded that the Veteran did not meet the criteria for direct service connection.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a cervical spine (neck) disability due to insufficient evidence showing a current disability related to service.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for GERD, sleep apnea, and a cervical spine disability. The claim for a migraine headache disability was remanded for further development.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for a bilateral hearing loss disability and remanded claims for multiple other disabilities, including left and right ankle, CTS, IBS, knee, shoulder, sleep apnea, and back conditions.
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