The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for cervical strain, finding that there was no evidence of a chronic neck disorder in service or shortly thereafter and that the persuasive balance of the evidence is against a finding that the Veteran's cervical strain is etiologically related to active service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner opined that the Veteran's cervical strain was less likely than not incurred in or caused by the claimed in-service injury, event, or illness. The Board found this opinion persuasive given the absence of evidence of medical encounters for evaluation or treatment for neck or upper back related conditions in service and the lack of credible reports of chronic neck pain since active service.
- Claimed conditions
- cervical strain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- March 20, 2025
- Citation
- A25025775
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,036 · Granted: 27% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation A25025775.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's service connection claims for various conditions were granted effective from July 1, 2020.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for service connection were dismissed due to a procedural defect in filing the claims on the correct form.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for migraine headaches and cervical strain due to a duty to assist error. The AOJ failed to obtain VA medical opinions addressing the etiology of these disabilities.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied an earlier effective date for service connection of chronic neck pain and cervical strain, finding that the Veteran did not file a claim for these conditions until June 28, 2013.
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