The Veteran's current cervical spine disorders are not etiologically related to service or his service-connected tinnitus.
The deciding factor: There is no competent evidence showing that any of the Veteran’s cervical spine disorders were caused by his military service or his service-connected tinnitus.
- Claimed conditions
- cervical spine arthritis, spondylosis, cervical disc disease, cervical radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 4, 2019
- Citation
- 19142821
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for cervical spine arthritis, lumbar spine arthritis, traumatic brain injury (TBI), seizure disorder, and erectile dysfunction has been dismissed due to the Veteran's death.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for cervical radiculopathy as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected cervical spine disability and denied an initial rating in excess of 20 percent for a cervical spine disability.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 40 percent evaluation for sciatic nerve radiculopathy of the right and left lower extremities, a 30 percent evaluation for femoral nerve radiculopathy of the right and left lower extremities, and a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU), but denied an increased evaluation in excess of 40 percent for spinal stenosis and lumbar intervertebral disc syndrome.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for further development, specifically to obtain relevant Social Security Administration records.
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.