The Veteran's current cervical spine disorder is not considered to be due to the July 4, 1996 injury at the North Chicago VAMC. The Board finds that the preponderance of evidence does not support a finding of additional disability resulting from this event.
The deciding factor: Multiple medical opinions indicate that the Veteran's current cervical spine disorder is more likely related to his underlying degenerative disease process rather than the July 1996 injury, which was considered reasonably foreseeable given the nature of the activity (touch football).
- Claimed conditions
- Cervical spine disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 15, 2020
- Citation
- 20067084
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
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Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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- Remanded (sent back)
The Board is remanding the claims for service connection due to a regulatory duty to assist error.
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