The Board denied the Veteran's claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for residual disability due to cervical spine surgery, finding that there was no evidence showing the disability resulted from VA carelessness or negligence.
The deciding factor: The medical opinions provided did not find any fault on the part of VA in performing the September 2002 surgery and found that complications associated with the procedure were foreseeable.
- Claimed conditions
- cervical spine degenerative joint disease, cervical spine stenosis, cervical myelopathy with radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- October 7, 2020
- Citation
- 20065358
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 3,319 · Granted: 25% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 20065358.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for cervical spine stenosis and other spondylosis with myelopathy is being remanded due to the need for a VA examination.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for a temporary total rating based on hospitalization or convalescence due to his service-connected cervical spine disability is remanded as the record does not include post-surgical follow-up treatment records from the University of Virginia Hospital.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's bilateral knee strains are granted as secondary to his service-connected bilateral pes planus. The appeal for cervical spine stenosis is dismissed.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied attorney fees for past-due benefits awarded in the June 2024 rating decision, as it was not a result of a valid appeal and did not involve service connection.
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