The Board has determined that the Veteran's degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine is related to his National Guard service, and radiculopathy of the right upper extremity is secondary to his service-connected cervical spine disability. The claim for both conditions is therefore granted.
The deciding factor: The medical opinions are in equipoise regarding whether the Veteran's current cervical spine disability and associated radiculopathy are related to his National Guard service, with a reasonable doubt resolved in favor of the Veteran.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine, Radiculopathy of the right upper extremity
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 5, 2017
- Citation
- 1710868
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 1710868.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine, finding that there is no nexus between the current disability and active duty service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to a duty to assist error, specifically regarding whether the Veteran's current conditions are aggravated by his service-connected DDD of the lumbosacral spine. The AOJ is required to obtain new medical opinions addressing this issue.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for cervical and lumbar spine disabilities prior to October 22, 2008 are being remanded due to the need for additional retrospective medical opinions.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection of degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine, finding that the evidence did not support a link between the condition and service.
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