The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for neck disabilities, including herniated discs and Klippel-Feil syndrome, as secondary to his service-connected left knee disability. The decision also granted TDIU based on the Veteran’s combined rating of 70% due to multiple service-connected conditions.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there was no medical evidence establishing a direct causal relationship between the Veteran's neck disabilities and his service-connected left knee disability, and thus denied service connection. The decision also noted that the Veteran met the criteria for TDIU based on his combined rating of 70% due to multiple service-connected conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- neck disabilities, herniated discs, Klippel-Feil syndrome
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 70%
- Decision date
- April 10, 2019
- Citation
- 19127875
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 439 · Granted: 19% (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 19127875.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for left knee disability and herniated discs due to insufficient development, including obtaining VA examinations and opinions regarding the etiology of these conditions.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the Veteran's claim for service connection for lumbosacral strain, to include herniated discs and lumbar surgery due to an untimely Notice of Disagreement.
- Denied
The appeal of a timely request for Higher-Level Review of the Veteran's entitlement to service connection for his claimed back and neck disabilities is denied.
- Partly granted
The veteran's appeal for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) was granted starting from December 31, 2015. The issue of TDIU prior to this date was remanded.
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