The Board found that the Veteran's cervical spine disability did not have its onset in active service or within one year thereafter, and is not causally related to such service. The Board also found that it was not caused or aggravated by service-connected bilateral knee disabilities.
The deciding factor: There is no medical evidence of a cervical spine disability until after the Veteran's separation from service, and there is no causal relationship between the current condition and active service or service-connected conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative changes of the cervical spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 15, 2016
- Citation
- 1643444
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 1643444.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claims for service connection for degenerative changes of the cervical spine and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), finding that new evidence supports these claims. Service connection is also granted for a musculoskeletal disability of the neck/upper back.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation from September 15, 2012. The Board granted a total disability rating for compensation due to his unemployability.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a cervical spine disability as there was no evidence of an in-service injury or disease related to active duty, ADT, or IDT.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for degenerative changes of the cervical spine and migraines (claimed as headaches) as secondary to a degenerative change in the cervical spine.
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