The Veteran's claim for an initial rating of 30 percent prior to April 8, 2003, and for the period of May 8, 2003, to May 24, 2004, for service-connected cervical spine disability is granted.,The Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 30 percent as of May 25, 2004, for a cervical spine disability is denied.,The Veteran's claim for an effective date earlier than May 25, 2004, but no earlier than September 24, 2002, for an extraschedular TDIU is granted.,The Veteran's claim for an effective date earlier than May 25, 2004, but no earlier than September 24, 2002, for the award of Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) benefits is granted.
The deciding factor: The evidence shows that the Veteran's cervical spine disability manifested as severe limitation of motion from September 24, 2002, to April 7, 2003, and May 8, 2003, with forward flexion of the cervical spine at or below 15 degrees.,The criteria for a rating in excess of 30 percent were not met as of May 25, 2004, due to the severity of the Veteran's disability and its impact on his ability to work.,The criteria for an effective date earlier than May 25, 2004, but no earlier than September 24, 2002, for a TDIU were met as the Veteran had continuously pursued this claim from September 24, 2002.,The criteria for an effective date earlier than May 25, 2004, but no earlier than September 24, 2002, for DEA benefits were met due to the Veteran's continuous pursuit of this claim.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine, Cervical spinal fusion, Cervical spinal stenosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 30%
- Decision date
- November 29, 2021
- Citation
- A21018950
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 A21018950.
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 Veteran's claim for increased ratings for degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine and lumbar spine was granted with effective dates of May 13, 2019.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for degenerative arthritis of the lumbar and cervical spine are being remanded due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error. The AOJ is directed to obtain an addendum medical opinion that addresses the extent of flareups experienced by the Veteran.
- Remanded (sent back)
Service connection for degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine and anxiety is granted. The Veteran's right lower extremity radiculopathy, right knee condition, and OSA are remanded due to duty-to-assist errors.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for reducing his disability ratings for cervical spine conditions has been withdrawn by the Veteran's representative.
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