The Board has determined that the Veteran's cervical strain with degenerative disc disease is related to his military service and has granted service connection for this condition.
The deciding factor: The evidence supports a finding that the Veteran's neck disability had its onset during his military service, including from repetitive motion of flying an F-16 fighter jet and gravitational forces on the body.
- Claimed conditions
- cervical strain with degenerative disc disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 9, 2019
- Citation
- 19136132
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,435 · Granted: 22% (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 19136132.
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.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeal because a concurrent election for review was made, which is not allowed. The Veteran's claim of service connection for cervical strain with degenerative disc disease cannot be reviewed by the Board.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for left knee strain, right knee injury, cervical strain with degenerative disc disease, lumbosacral strain to include degenerative disc disease and IVDS, right lower extremity radiculopathy, traumatic brain injury (TBI), and tension headaches have been granted effective October 9, 2023.,The Veteran's claims for an earlier effective date were denied as the appropriate effective date is October 9, 2023.
- Granted
The Veteran was granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to her service-connected disabilities, as the evidence demonstrated she was unable to obtain and maintain gainful employment.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for cervical strain with degenerative disc disease, right shoulder tendinopathy, and left shoulder condition. The claims for right upper extremity radiculopathy as secondary to a cervical strain were also granted. However, the claim for left upper extremity radiculopathy and gastroesophageal reflux disease were denied.
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