Service connection was denied for a neck disorder, diagnosed as degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine. The Veteran's current condition is not service-connected due to lack of medical evidence linking it to his military service.,The claim for removal of the gall bladder was also denied. There is no credible or competent evidence showing that this surgery occurred during service and there are no indications of a chronic disability resulting from any illness.
The deciding factor: Service connection cannot be established as there is no medical evidence linking the current neck disorder to military service, nor does it meet the criteria for presumptive service connection due to exposure in the Southwest Asia Theater of Operations during the Gulf War.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine, Bilateral knee disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- November 5, 2013
- Citation
- 1335905
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 1335905.
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: Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for a right ear hearing loss disability is dismissed. The appeal for service connection for bilateral knee disabilities is denied.
- 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.
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