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Granted

An effective date of February 10, 2003 is granted for the grant of service connection for a cervical spine disability. The Veteran's left shoulder and neck disabilities are also rated at 10 percent.

The deciding factor: The earliest claim for service connection was filed on February 10, 2003, which established the effective date based on when VA received the initial application.

Claimed conditions
Cervical spine disability, Left shoulder disability
How they argued it
Direct service connection
Exposure basis
None
Rating assigned
10%
Decision date
September 17, 2018
Citation
18135604

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 18135604.

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

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