The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection of his cervical spine disability as secondary to his service-connected lumbar spine, bilateral foot, and right knee disabilities due to insufficient evidence supporting a causal relationship between these conditions.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners provided negative nexus opinions based on their review of medical literature and clinical findings, concluding that the Veteran's cervical spine disability was not proximately caused or aggravated by his service-connected lumbar spine, bilateral foot, and right knee disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- Cervical spine disability, Lumbar spine disability, Bilateral foot disability, Right knee disability
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 9, 2022
- Citation
- 22062834
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 22062834.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected cervical spine disability is rated at 20 percent, the maximum rating available under the General Formula for Diseases and Injuries of the Spine. The evidence does not support a higher rating as his range of motion did not meet the criteria for an increased rating.
- Granted
The Veteran's TDIU claim for bilateral knee disabilities and his right and left knee scars have been granted. He is now rated at a combined 60% disability rating from June 1, 2018 based on bilateral factors for his bilateral knee disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for brain cancer, low back disability, and cervical spine disability due to a pre-decisional error in failing to obtain a radiation dose estimate from the Under Secretary for Health. The Veteran's military service aboard USS ENTERPRISE is considered relevant to his exposure to ionizing radiation.
- Granted
The Veteran's cervical spine condition had its onset in service and has continued since then, meeting the criteria for service connection.
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