The Board has determined that the Veteran's degenerative joint disease of the cervical spine did not begin during service or is otherwise related to an in-service injury, and thus denied his claim for service connection.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found no evidence linking the current DJD of the cervical spine to any incident during service, including a head laceration sustained in April 1967.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD) of the cervical spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 27, 2020
- Citation
- 20075797
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 20075797.
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
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for a disability rating in excess of 30 percent for cervical spine DJD, right upper extremity radiculopathy, and left upper extremity radiculopathy due to incomplete development.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for cervical and lumbosacral spine disabilities have been remanded due to new treatment records showing possible worsening of his conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate medical opinions regarding the nature and etiology of the Veteran's cervical spine disability, including whether it is related to service or secondary to a service-connected condition.
- Denied
The Veteran's cervical spine disability is rated at 20 percent, effective February 5, 2022. The rating for LUE radiculopathy remains unchanged.
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