The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for cervical spine and thoracolumbar spine disorders, finding that these conditions are not related to his active duty service or his service-connected knee disabilities. The claim for an increased disability rating for left knee disability was also denied.
The deciding factor: VA medical opinions found no etiological link between the Veteran's current back and neck conditions and his active duty service or his service-connected knee disabilities, attributing them instead to environmental risk factors and/or physical demands associated with his employment as a postal carrier.
- Claimed conditions
- Cervical spine disorder, Thoracolumbar spine disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 20, 2016
- Citation
- 1620642
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 1620642.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for a cervical spine disorder and psychiatric disorder due to incomplete information. The Veteran needs to provide his complete service personnel records, verify his alleged combat experience in Vietnam, and undergo VA examinations for both conditions.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a cervical spine disorder, finding that there was no evidence of a causal relationship between his current condition and his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the initial ratings assigned for psoriatic arthritis of the upper and lower extremities, as well as service connection for a cervical spine disorder, need to be remanded due to incomplete evidence. The Veteran's periods of active duty for training (ADT) and inactive duty for training (IDT) must be confirmed, and all relevant medical records should be obtained.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have rendered him in need of regular aid and attendance, warranting an effective date of January 8, 2014 for SMC based on the need for aid and attendance.
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