The Veteran's cervical spine disability is found to be service-connected, and the lumbar spine DDD with sciatic radiculopathy is not considered caused or aggravated by his service-connected lumbar spine strain.
The deciding factor: The medical opinions provided a consistent finding that the Veteran's cervical spine disability was related to his military service, while the examiner who conducted the October 2017 examination found it less likely than not caused by his service-connected lumbar spine strain. The December 2017 opinion from F.A. supported this conclusion.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine, Reversed lordosis of the upper cervical spine, Lumbar spine degenerative disc disease (DDD) with lower extremity sciatic radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 2, 2018
- Citation
- 1806858
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 1806858.
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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