The Board has granted service connection for a cervical spine disability on the basis that it is proximately due to his service-connected left shoulder disability. The claim for an increased rating for lumbosacral spine disability remains pending and will be remanded.
The deciding factor: Service connection was established based on secondary service connection as the Veteran's neck disability is a result of his service-connected shoulder disability.
- Claimed conditions
- Cervical spine (neck) disability, Lumbosacral spine (lower back disability)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- March 29, 2019
- Citation
- 19123568
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 19123568.
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 the Veteran's claim for service connection for a cervical spine disability with left upper extremity radiculopathy, finding that there was no evidence of an in-service injury or chronic condition. The Board concluded that the Veteran did not meet the criteria for direct service connection.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a cervical spine (neck) disability due to insufficient evidence showing a current disability related to service.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for GERD, sleep apnea, and a cervical spine disability. The claim for a migraine headache disability was remanded for further development.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection and initial rating due to the need for additional VA examinations.
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