The Board denied the Veteran's claim of service connection for a neck disability, finding that there is no causal relationship between his current condition and his active duty service or any service-connected conditions. The Board also found insufficient evidence to support secondary service connection.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner provided negative opinions regarding both direct and secondary service connection due to the lack of a causal pathophysiological relationship between the Veteran's service-connected back disability and his neck condition, as well as the absence of aggravation by his service-connected back disability.
- Claimed conditions
- neck disability, intervertebral disc syndrome
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 16, 2021
- Citation
- 21022541
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 21022541.
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 decided to remand the claim for service connection of a neck disability due to pre-decisional error in not obtaining a VA examination and medical opinion.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for neck and back disabilities due to a lack of medical evidence supporting the Veteran's assertions. The VA will obtain an examination and provide an opinion on whether these disabilities are related to service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to predecisional duty-to-assist errors, including inadequate medical opinions and missed VA examinations. The Veteran's claim for service connection for a back condition is being returned to the RO for further action.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for left leg shin splints, right leg shin splints, back disability, and neck disability due to insufficient evidence in the record regarding these conditions.
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