The Veteran's claim for an initial compensable disability rating for his cervical spine scar was granted with an effective date of February 27, 2017. The appeals for all other issues were dismissed due to withdrawal by the Veteran.
The deciding factor: The Veteran underwent a C4-5 anterior cervical discectomy and fusion on February 27, 2017, resulting in a cervical spine scar. This date is considered the earliest possible effective date as it aligns with the date of entitlement to service connection for the condition.
- Claimed conditions
- Cervical spine scar
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 7, 2023
- Citation
- 23049429
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 23049429.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities prior to January 31, 2011, as his service-connected conditions did not prevent him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates are dismissed as freestanding claims, and the increased rating claims have been remanded due to new evidence of worsening conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's cervical scar claim is denied, and the psychiatric disorder claim is remanded for further development.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial compensable rating for his service-connected cervical spine scar, finding that the evidence did not show any characteristics of disfigurement, visible or palpable tissue loss, or gross distortion or asymmetry of features.
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