The Board has granted service connection for degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine with radiculopathy and cervical spine disorder, finding that these conditions are related to the Veteran's period of active duty. Service connection for bilateral shoulder disorder is denied as there is no evidence linking the current condition to his military service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner concluded that the Veteran's current bilateral shoulder and cervical spine disorders were less likely than not caused by his 1979 fall into a foxhole during service, with findings of degenerative arthritis in both shoulders and cervical spine being attributed to natural progression over time rather than an in-service injury.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine, Radiculopathy secondary to degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine, Degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine, Bilateral shoulder disorder
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 31, 2014
- Citation
- 1404349
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 1404349.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for increased ratings for degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine and lumbar spine was granted with effective dates of May 13, 2019.
- Granted
The Veteran's degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine was diagnosed during service and has continued since then. The Board granted service connection for this condition based on continuity of symptomatology.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to inadequate examinations and the need for a retrospective opinion regarding the severity of his service-connected lumbar spine disability.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's low back disability, diagnosed as degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine, is related to service and granted service connection for this condition.
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