The Veteran's upper back condition, diagnosed as a cervical strain and degenerative arthritis of the spine, is found to be related to service. Service connection for this condition has been granted.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner could not find an adequate medical opinion linking the current condition to service due to lack of specific STRs mentioning the upper back or neck injury, but the Veteran's consistent report and treatment records support a finding that his symptoms began in service and have persisted since then.
- Claimed conditions
- upper back condition, cervical strain, degenerative arthritis of the spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 16, 2019
- Citation
- 19154809
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 19154809.
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 Veteran's appeal was dismissed due to their death during the pendency of the appeal.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection claims for various conditions were granted effective from July 1, 2020.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for service connection were dismissed due to a procedural defect in filing the claims on the correct form.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for degenerative arthritis of the spine was granted. The claims for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and residuals of head injuries and concussions are remanded.
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