The VA denied compensation for the Veteran's cervical spine surgery due to informed consent being present or a reasonable person would have consented, and no negligence on the part of VA. The continued pain and burning nerve pain were known potential complications.
The deciding factor: VA treatment was not negligent or otherwise faulty, and the continued pain and burning nerve pain were reasonably foreseeable risks of the cervical spine surgery.
- Claimed conditions
- Cervical Spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 8, 2019
- Citation
- 19161453
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 19161453.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board denied a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss and remanded the claim for service connection for cervical spine.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claims of service connection for cervical spine, bilateral shoulders, bilateral knees, and bilateral hips due to inadequate VA examinations. The Veteran's attorney raised secondary service-connection issues.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the cases for further development and examination to determine the current severity of the Veteran's mental disability, bilateral ankle conditions, and bilateral hip conditions. The reduction in the rating for cervical spine is also being reviewed.
- Granted
Service connection for major depressive disorder is granted.,Secondary service connection for cervical spine disability is granted.,Entitlement to service connection for tonsil condition due to exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune is denied.,Entitlement to service connection for MGUS (monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance) due to exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune is denied.,Secondary service connection for low back disability is denied.
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