The Board denied service connection for degenerative arthritis of the thoracolumbar spine and left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, finding that there was no evidence to support a nexus between these conditions and active duty service.
The deciding factor: Service connection could not be established due to lack of in-service incurrence or aggravation, and insufficient medical evidence linking current disabilities to service.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative arthritis of the thoracolumbar spine, Left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 16, 2022
- Citation
- 22034998
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 22034998.
What this means for you
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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 TDIU and DEA claims are remanded due to duty-to-assist errors prior to the rating decision on review. The effective date for TDIU is set at January 31, 2021, based on the last day of employment. However, the RO needs to obtain SSA records regarding earnings from July 2020 to January 31, 2021, to determine if the Veteran's employment was marginal.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection of degenerative arthritis of the thoracolumbar spine was dismissed as a matter of law due to a full grant of benefits. The appeals for left knee and left ankle disabilities are remanded.
- Granted
The Veteran's disability ratings for right and left upper extremity peripheral neuropathy, as well as right and left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, were restored to their previous levels of 70%, 60%, 30%, and 30% respectively, effective from February 12, 2025.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected right and left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy are rated at 10 percent each. The Board denied entitlement to an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for both conditions.
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