The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection of a cervical spine condition as secondary to his service-connected thoracolumbar spine disability. The VA examiner found insufficient evidence to support the Veteran’s contentions that his cervical spine condition is caused by or etiologically related to his service-connected thoraco-lumbar spine.,The Board denied the Veteran's claims for increased ratings of his right and left knee conditions, finding no evidence to support a higher rating based on limitation of flexion.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found insufficient evidence to support the Veteran’s contentions that his cervical spine condition is caused by or etiologically related to his service-connected thoraco-lumbar spine. The examination report indicated that the arthritis of the Veteran's cervical spine was more likely attributable to age-related changes.
- Claimed conditions
- Cervical Spine Condition, Right Knee Degenerative Arthritis (Flexion), Left Knee DJD (Degenerative Joint Disease) (Flexion)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- March 5, 2019
- Citation
- 19115767
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,035 · Granted: 30% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 19115767.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to new and relevant evidence received, including VA examinations and opinions that tend to prove or disprove the Veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder. The cervical spine condition is denied as there was no in-service onset or chronicity.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has granted service connection for a right knee strain. The cases of cervical spine condition, left upper extremity nerve condition, left lower extremity condition (radiculopathy), right shoulder condition, and left shoulder condition are remanded for further development.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied service connection for IBS, chronic fatigue syndrome, and increased ratings for bilateral foot conditions and bilateral hearing loss. The TBI, cervical spine, left knee, right knee, lower left extremity neurological condition, lower right extremity neurological condition, and neuropathy of the right ankle residuals were remanded.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for obstructive sleep apnea on a direct basis and remanded the claims for secondary service connection and cervical spine conditions.
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