The appeal for an effective date prior to December 22, 2005, for the award of service connection for degenerative joint disease of the thoracic and lumbar spine is dismissed due to the appellant's death.
The deciding factor: The appellant died during the pendency of the appeal, thus the Board has no jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of this case.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative joint disease of the thoracic and lumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 8, 2022
- Citation
- 22033462
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 22033462.
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's degenerative joint disease of the thoracic and lumbar spine did not have onset in service or within one year of service, and was not caused or aggravated by his active service, including spinal taps. Therefore, the claim for service connection is denied.
- Dismissed
The Veteran has withdrawn his appeals for service connection for the residuals of a right ankle sprain and for a higher (compensable) initial rating for degenerative joint disease of the thoracic and lumbar spine. The Board does not have jurisdiction to consider these matters.
- Granted
The Veteran's degenerative joint disease of the thoracic and lumbar spine is rated at 20 percent, effective as of the date of the decision. The rating for his right lower extremity radiculopathy remains at 10 percent.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a back disability as there was no medical evidence of a causal link between her current back disability and her active military service.
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