The Board incorrectly applied the law, finding clear and unmistakable evidence that a cervical sprain existed prior to service but failed to consider whether it was aggravated during service. The decision is revised due to this error.
The deciding factor: The Board did not properly apply the two-part analysis required by the presumption of soundness in determining if the Veteran's preexisting cervical sprain was aggravated by service.
- Claimed conditions
- Cervical Sprain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 12, 2016
- Citation
- 1601195
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 1601195.
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 PTSD, sleep apnea, hypertension, right MCA stroke with left-sided hemiplegia and major neurocognitive impairment, headaches, left ankle sprain, cervical sprain, and lumbar disc disease are all granted as secondary to service-connected conditions.
- Denied
The Veteran's cervical spine disability was found to have a combined range of motion of the cervical spine to 280 degrees, with no muscle spasm or guarding severe enough to result in an abnormal gait. The Veteran's foot condition did not show any abnormalities on imaging studies and had no impact on his ability to work.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's cervical spine disability was not caused by his injury during ACDUTRA in 1981, and thus denied service connection.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings were denied. The Board found that the Veteran's cervical sprain did not meet criteria for a rating in excess of 20 percent, his appendectomy scar was not compensable prior to November 27, 2007 and rated as 10 percent after that date, and his headaches met criteria for an initial 30 percent rating.
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