The Veteran's cervical condition, including degenerative disk disease and stenosis, is found to have started during his service in Vietnam. The Board granted service connection for these conditions based on the presumption of service connection due to combat exposure.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran's neck injury during service was combat-related and thus presumed, combined with credible reports from the Veteran and medical diagnoses, led to a finding of service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- cervical degenerative disk disease (DDD), stenosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 7, 2021
- Citation
- 21062552
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 3,217 · Granted: 46% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 21062552.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development due to the need for a VA examination and consideration of his claims.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for an increased rating of his service-connected lumbar spine disability was denied. The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the claim of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability due to a grant in October 2025. The back condition claim is granted with a 30% evaluation effective September 22, 2016.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for cervical spine degenerative disc disease, spondylosis, and stenosis based on the evidence showing that these conditions originated during active service.
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