The Veteran's claim for service connection for a neck disability and his TDIU claim were both denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a finding of direct service connection for the cervical spine condition, as there was no credible evidence linking it to military service. For the TDIU claim, the Veteran’s combined disability rating was 10%, which is below the threshold required for a schedular TDIU determination.
The deciding factor: The preponderance of the evidence did not support a finding that the cervical spine condition was related to military service and there were no additional disabilities present in combination with the left knee and lumbar/thoracic spine conditions to bring the combined rating to 70% or more.
- Claimed conditions
- arthritis of the cervical spine, degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine, left knee disability, lumbar/thoracic spine disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- June 17, 2020
- Citation
- 20041305
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 20041305.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development, including a new VA examination to assess his bilateral knee and hip disabilities.
- Partly granted
The Board has not made a final determination on the claims of service connection for inguinal hernia, PTSD, joint pain, fibromyalgia, left knee disability, right knee disability, tinnitus, chronic fatigue syndrome, respiratory disability, sleep disorder, IBS, and headaches. The claims are remanded to obtain additional evidence and determine if these conditions are related to service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient rationale in the July 2012 VA examination for the Veteran's left knee disability, and a new addendum opinion is needed.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the Veteran's claims for service connection for left knee disability, right knee disability, lumbar spine disability, and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) as these issues have been addressed in a separate docket.
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