The Board dismissed the Veteran's appeals for service connection for degenerative arthritis of the thoracolumbar spine and a cervical spine disability, to include cervical degenerative arthritis, due to untimely filings.
The deciding factor: The Veteran did not file timely notices of disagreement within one year of the August 2021 rating decision, and good cause has not been shown for extending the time limit.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative arthritis of the thoracolumbar spine, Cervical spine disability, to include cervical degenerative arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 22, 2025
- Citation
- A25091462
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,188 · Granted: 23% (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 A25091462.
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection of degenerative arthritis of the thoracolumbar spine was dismissed as a matter of law due to a full grant of benefits. The appeals for left knee and left ankle disabilities are remanded.
- Granted
The Veteran's lumbar disability and associated radiculopathy of the sciatic and femoral nerves are granted with effective dates from June 30, 2010. A 40% rating is assigned for the lumbar disability.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's back disability, including degenerative arthritis of the thoracolumbar spine, is related to his active service and grants service connection for this condition.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an initial rating higher than 40 percent for his back disability is denied. The issue of entitlement to a TDIU from February 25, 2016, to August 14, 2022, is also denied. The effective date for Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) benefits is denied.
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