The Board denied the Veteran's claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 due to VA treatment, finding that there was no additional disability caused by the 1998 cervical spine surgery and that the Veteran did not suffer from any disabilities related to his spinal surgery.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence does not support a finding of carelessness, negligence, lack of proper skill, or similar instance of fault on the part of VA in providing the 1998 cervical spine surgery. The complications claimed by the Veteran were unrelated to the procedure or any complications thereof.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of spinal surgery, cervical spine surgery
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 27, 2022
- Citation
- 22060389
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 22060389.
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 remands the claims for service connection for left knee meniscal tear, bilateral plantar fasciitis, cervical spine surgery, and radiculopathies as secondary to cervical spine surgery due to a pre-decisional duty-to-assist error.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding whether the Veteran's cervical spine surgery caused additional disability and if so, whether it was due to carelessness or negligence. The case will be returned for further development.
- Denied
The Veteran's petition to reopen the claim of entitlement to service connection for residuals of spinal surgery, to include right sided numbness and pain was denied. The Veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for depressive disorder was also denied.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a surgical scar on the veteran's back, but denied service connection for other back disabilities.
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