The Board found that the Veteran's current cervical spine disability was not incurred or aggravated by active military service and denied his claim.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner concluded that the Veteran's condition was less likely as not related to active duty service, based on a lack of in-service treatment records and inconsistent post-service medical history.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine, Cervical spondylosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- March 7, 2016
- Citation
- 1608952
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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 1608952.
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: 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.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for degenerative arthritis of the lumbar and cervical spine are being remanded due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error. The AOJ is directed to obtain an addendum medical opinion that addresses the extent of flareups experienced by the Veteran.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
Service connection for degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine and anxiety is granted. The Veteran's right lower extremity radiculopathy, right knee condition, and OSA are remanded due to duty-to-assist errors.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine is found to have begun during active service and has been recurrent since then, granting service connection.
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