The Board found no evidence of a neck injury or chronic cervical spine disease during service, and the Veteran's current cervical spine disorder is not etiologically related to his military service. The claim for service connection for a cervical spine disorder is denied.
The deciding factor: There was no in-service incurrence of a neck injury or chronic cervical spine condition, and no evidence that cervical spine degenerative arthritis developed within one year of separation from service.
- Claimed conditions
- Cervical spine degenerative arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 27, 2017
- Citation
- 1742972
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 1742972.
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.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a fungal infection of the feet, cervical spine degenerative arthritis, and psychiatric condition due to lack of evidence showing these conditions were incurred or aggravated by service.
- Granted
The Veteran's right upper extremity radiculopathy is granted a 40 percent rating, and the left upper extremity radiculopathy is granted a 30 percent rating. The cervical spine degenerative arthritis does not meet the criteria for a higher than 20 percent rating.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection have been denied. The cervical spine disability is rated as 20 percent prior to May 31, 2024 and 30 percent on and after that date.,PTSD is rated at 50 percent.
- Denied
The Veteran's neck disability, rated at 30 percent, is denied a higher rating as there is no evidence of unfavorable ankylosis or other disabling conditions that would warrant a higher rating.
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