The Veteran's claim for service connection for polysubstance abuse as secondary to his service-connected thoracic scoliosis and/or cervical spine degenerative disc disease was denied. The reduction of the ratings for bilateral lower extremity disabilities from 20 percent to 10 percent effective September 1, 2014 is upheld.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's polysubstance abuse has been in remission since 2004 and there is no current evidence of a current disability. The claim for service connection was denied as the first essential criterion (current disability) for a grant of service connection has not been met.
- Claimed conditions
- polysubstance abuse, thoracic scoliosis and/or cervical spine degenerative disc disease
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 30, 2014
- Citation
- 1434079
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 1434079.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
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