The Board has determined that the Veteran's cervical spine disability was not incurred in or aggravated by service and is not due to a service-connected disability. The right ankle disability issue remains pending as it will be addressed in the REMAND portion of the decision.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found no evidence linking the current cervical spine disability to military service, and the Veteran's statements were deemed less credible than medical records indicating normal cervical spine curvature at separation from service. For the right ankle disability, an addendum opinion is needed to determine if it had its onset during military service or is otherwise related to active military service.
- Claimed conditions
- Cervical spine disability, Right ankle disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 17, 2015
- Citation
- 1530747
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 1530747.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected cervical spine disability is rated at 20 percent, the maximum rating available under the General Formula for Diseases and Injuries of the Spine. The evidence does not support a higher rating as his range of motion did not meet the criteria for an increased rating.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date of January 10, 1997, for a 10% disability rating for his right ankle disability is denied as there was no CUE in the previous decisions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for brain cancer, low back disability, and cervical spine disability due to a pre-decisional error in failing to obtain a radiation dose estimate from the Under Secretary for Health. The Veteran's military service aboard USS ENTERPRISE is considered relevant to his exposure to ionizing radiation.
- Granted
The Veteran's cervical spine condition had its onset in service and has continued since then, meeting the criteria for service connection.
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