The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for cervical spine DJD and bilateral upper extremity neuropathy, finding no direct or secondary link to his military service.
The deciding factor: Multiple VA opinions found no causal relationship between the Veteran's current cervical spine DJD and service, nor did they find a link to his service-connected right shoulder condition.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD) of the Cervical Spine, Bilateral Neuropathy of the Upper Extremities
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- March 23, 2022
- Citation
- 22016646
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 22016646.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, hypertension, and bilateral neuropathy are granted service connection. Service connection for bilateral neuropathy of the upper extremities and lower extremities is remanded.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's right medial epicondylitis and cervical spine disabilities are being remanded for further examination to determine their current severity.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that there was not substantial compliance with previous remand directives regarding the rating for right medial epicondylitis and the rating for degenerative joint disease (DJD) of the cervical spine. As a result, these issues are being returned to the AOJ for further development.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's cervical spine condition is rated at 30 percent prior to May 20, 2019 and since then. The Veteran's left and right upper extremity radiculopathy conditions are each rated at 20 percent.
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