The Board has granted service connection for C6 compression fracture of the cervical spine and degenerative disc disease and spondylosis of the cervical spine, finding that the evidence is in relative equipoise as to whether these conditions are related to service. The issue of an initial rating higher than 10 percent for degenerative disc disease, spondylosis, with L5-S1 spondylolisthesis, of the lumbar spine remains pending.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the evidence was in relative equipoise as to whether the Veteran's cervical spine disability is related to service, thus applying the benefit-of-the-doubt rule and granting service connection for these conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- C6 compression fracture of the cervical spine, degenerative disc disease and spondylosis of the cervical spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 25, 2019
- Citation
- 19149578
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,050 · Granted: 23% (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 19149578.
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 service connection for degenerative disc disease and spondylosis of the cervical spine, and also denied increased ratings for traumatic brain injury and total disability rating for an acquired psychiatric disorder. The effective date for posttraumatic stress disorder with opioid use disorder was also denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a need for an additional medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's current angioplasty with stent placement is aggravated by her service-connected cervical spine and lumbar spine disabilities.
- Granted
The Board has granted an effective date of March 14, 2012 for the assignment of a TDIU on an extraschedular basis. The Veteran was found to be unemployable due to his service-connected disabilities since March 14, 2012.
- Granted
The Veteran meets the schedular requirement for a TDIU rating due to his service-connected disabilities, and based on his work experience and education, he is unemployable. The VA examiner concluded that the severity of the multiple service-connected disabilities render the Veteran incapable of obtaining and retaining substantially gainful employment.
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