The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a low back disability, secondary to his service-connected cervical spine disability. The Board also denied increased ratings for his cervical spine and major depressive disorder disabilities.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not support a finding that the Veteran’s current low back disability was related to his military service or to his service-connected cervical spine disability.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine DJD with lumbar myositis, status post traumatic cervical right posterolateral herniated nucleus pulposus at C6-C7 level with upper back myositis
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 12, 2020
- Citation
- 20040369
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 20040369.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected traumatic brain injury, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- Granted
The Veteran's major depressive disorder is found to be caused by his service-connected low back and radiculopathy disabilities, which prevent him from doing enjoyable activities and daily living tasks.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper extremities, and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral lower extremities, finding that there was no evidence linking these conditions to his active service or any related exposure.
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