The Board granted service connection for a cervical spine disability and granted increased ratings for residuals of a fracture to the right olecranon, impairment of supination and/or pronation of the right forearm, L1 compression fracture with degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine, left lower extremity radiculopathy of sciatic nerve, and right lower extremity radiculopathy of sciatic nerve. The Board also remanded for further development on service connection for dental or mouth injuries due to trauma.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's cervical spine disability is presumed to be related to his active duty service based on the evidence of record being at least in equipoise as to whether it was caused by a fall during service. The Board granted increased ratings for other disabilities, finding that they were not more than likely due to service.
- Claimed conditions
- Cervical Spine Disability, Left Lower Extremity Radiculopathy of Sciatic Nerve, Right Lower Extremity Radiculopathy of Sciatic Nerve
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- February 7, 2019
- Citation
- 19109358
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,170 · Granted: 38% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 19109358.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's cervical spine disability, right knee strain (painful motion), and right knee instability are now rated at 30 percent effective August 16, 2017.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for service connection for TMD, cervical spine disability, and FSAD have been denied.,An earlier effective date prior to August 2, 2022, for the award of service connection for these conditions has also been denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's service connection claims for erectile dysfunction and voiding dysfunction have been denied due to the lack of evidence linking these conditions to his in-service exposure.,The remaining service connection claims (for bilateral feet, ankles, hip, wrist, cervical spine, upper extremity radiculopathy, psychiatric disorder, GERD, sleep apnea, and hypertension) are remanded for further development.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for cervical spine disability, right upper extremity radiculopathy, and left upper extremity radiculopathy due to inadequate examinations. The Veteran is required to undergo new VA examinations to assess her current and retrospective severity of these disabilities.
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