The Board granted service connection for degenerative joint disease of the thoracolumbar spine and cervical spine, finding that the evidence was approximately balanced as to whether these conditions were caused by an injury or event during active service.
The deciding factor: The decision was based on the approximately balanced evidence regarding the etiology of the Veteran's degenerative joint diseases of the thoracic and cervical spines, with both lay statements and medical opinions supporting a connection to in-service events.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative joint disease of the thoracolumbar spine, Degenerative joint disease of the cervical spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- May 8, 2025
- Citation
- A25041735
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a cervical spine disability to obtain an adequate medical opinion addressing both causation and aggravation.
- Denied
The Board denied higher ratings for the Veteran's knee and cervical spine disabilities, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating under applicable criteria.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected degenerative joint disease of the cervical spine has prevented him from securing and maintaining substantially gainful occupation, and he is granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) and special monthly compensation (SMC) at the housebound rate.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not preclude him from securing and following any substantially gainful employment prior to June 14, 2022.
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