The Veteran's petition to reopen his claim of entitlement to service connection for a cervical spine disorder is granted. Entitlement to service connection for degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine is also granted.
The deciding factor: New evidence, including a private nexus opinion and statements from the Veteran's spouse, established that the Veteran’s current neck disorder was related to his active service.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 15, 2020
- Citation
- 20066954
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine, left and right upper extremity radiculopathy, as secondary to a service-connected lower back disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for an increased rating in excess of 20 percent for degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine and entitlement to TDIU due to the need for a medical opinion on whether the Veteran's symptoms amount to functional ankylosis.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine and cervical spine, finding that these conditions are related to the Veteran's combat service in the Persian Gulf.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for a neck condition, to include degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine, cervical lordosis, and bone atrophy, as secondary to degenerative disc disease of the thoracolumbar spine, due to duty to assist errors.
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