The Board denied service connection for residuals of cervical spine surgery, a vocal cord disorder, and a throat disorder. The Veteran's claims were not supported by medical evidence showing a causal relationship between the conditions and his military service.,Compensation pursuant to 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for a vocal cord and/or throat disorder resulting from VA cervical spine surgery was also denied due to lack of causation.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence did not support the existence of any current disabilities, including residuals of spinal cord surgery, a vocal cord disorder, or a throat disorder, that were related to service. The Veteran's claims for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 also failed because there was no evidence showing VA carelessness or negligence.,The July 2019 VA examiner found that the transient right recurrent laryngeal nerve injury resulting from the cervical spine surgery had resolved, and any current throat disorder was related to esophageal compression rather than the spinal surgery.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of cervical spine surgery, vocal cord disorder, throat disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 17, 2019
- Citation
- 19194562
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 19194562.
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 grants service connection for headaches as the evidence supports a direct link to the Veteran's active military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for various conditions, including left shoulder and joint pain, right shoulder joint and bone pain, left knee bone and joint pain, right knee bone and joint pain, depression, gums and tooth pain, and throat pain, to correct duty-to-assist errors that occurred prior to the rating decision on appeal.
- Partly granted
The veteran's request for a higher rating for their psychiatric disorder was denied. The claims for service connection for a throat disorder and left leg disorder were remanded for further evaluation.
- Dismissed
The appeal seeking revision or reversal of a rating decision that assigned an effective date of July 29, 2020, for the grant of service connection for soft palate injury with vocal cord disorder on the basis of clear and unmistakable error (CUE) is dismissed. Entitlement to an effective date prior to July 29, 2020, for the grant of service connection for soft palate injury with vocal cord disorder is denied.
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