The Veteran's claims for increased rating and service connection were denied. The Veteran was granted a 40% rating for his cervical spine disability, but the claim for an increased rating is still pending. Service connection for left upper extremity peripheral neuropathy was also denied.
The deciding factor: Service connection could not be established as there was no evidence of a nexus between the service-connected conditions and the claimed disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- ankylosing spondylitis (cervical spine disability), left upper extremity peripheral neuropathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- December 18, 2019
- Citation
- 19194999
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,329 · Granted: 31% (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 19194999.
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- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to a duty to assist error, specifically regarding the Veteran's exposure to mercury in dental amalgams and asbestos during service. A VA medical opinion is needed to determine if these exposures are related to his claimed disabilities.
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