The Board granted service connection for degenerative joint disease off the cervical spine with spinal fusion and cervical spondylosis myelo, and left upper extremity radiculopathy (claimed as left arm weakness), but denied service connection for chronic pain.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's claims were granted based on evidence submitted after the initial denial in 2013, while his claim for chronic pain was denied due to overlapping symptoms with existing service-connected conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- Chronic pain, Degenerative joint disease off the cervical spine with spinal fusion and cervical spondylosis myelo, Left upper extremity radiculopathy (claimed as left arm weakness)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- February 4, 2025
- Citation
- A25009794
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 833 · Granted: 33% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 A25009794.
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's appeal for increased ratings and TDIU was granted, with a 100% rating for CAD from March 3, 2023 to June 30, 2023, and a 60% rating thereafter. Separate ratings were also assigned for chest scars status post CABG.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder is denied.,Compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for a cervical spine disorder and chronic pain caused by his surgeries is denied due to lack of fault on the part of VA in recommending or performing the procedures.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remanded the Veteran's claim for TDIU for the period prior to August 20, 2021 for extraschedular consideration by the Director of Compensation Service. Although the Veteran did not meet schedular criteria under 38 C.F.R. § 4.16(a), evidence including a private vocational expert opinion indicated he may have been unemployable due to service-connected disabilities since at least January 1, 2014.
- Granted
The Veteran's cervical spine disability is granted as secondary to the service-connected lumbar disability. The claim for chronic pain and insomnia are remanded.
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