Citation Nr: 21068413 Decision Date: 11/10/21 Archive Date: 11/10/21 DOCKET NO. 10-28 690 DATE: November 10, 2021 ORDER Service connection for a neck disability is granted. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran's neck disability had its onset in service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for a neck disability have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5107 (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Air Force from October 1974 to October 1978 and in May 1991. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a September 2008 rating decision from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). This matter was remanded in August 2017 and November 2018 for additional development as the examinations of record at that time were inadequate. In an October 2020 decision, the Board denied entitlement to service connection for a neck disability. The Veteran appealed the Board's October 2020 decision to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court), which in a July 2021 order, granted the parties' joint motions for remand (JMR), vacating the Board's October 2020 decision and remanding the claim for compliance with the terms of the JMR. 1. Service connection for a neck disability. In the July 2021 joint motion for remand, the parties determined that the Board relied on an inadequate VA examination report from November and December 2019 as it failed to consider the Veteran's lay statements. After a review of the evidence of record, the Board finds that service connection for a neck disability is warranted. To establish service connection for a claimed disorder, the following criteria must be met: (1) medical evidence of a current disability; (2) evidence of an in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) evidence of a nexus between the claimed in-service disease or injury and current disability. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303; see also, Davidson v. Shinseki, 581 F.3d 1313, 1316 (Fed. Cir. 2009); Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1166-67 (Fed. Cir. 2004); Hickson v. West, 12 Vet. App. 247, 253 (1999). Service connection may be granted for a disability resulting in a disease or injury that is incurred in or aggravated by active-duty military service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. Service connection may be established by credible lay evidence and medical evidence provided by the Veteran or otherwise. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. In this case, the evidence shows that the Veteran has a diagnosis of degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine. See VA Examinations, November 2017 and November 2019. The Veteran asserts that his neck disability was caused by an injury sustained during a basketball game while on active duty. See Notice of Disagreement, December 2008. The Veteran's service treatment records confirm that the Veteran was treated for a neck injury in February 1977. Medical treatment records show that the Veteran was treated for neck problems in January 2003. In October 2010, the Veteran underwent a cervical spine MRI showing mild broad-based protrusion at C6-C7. The private treating physician indicated that the Veteran reported no recent neck injury, but the Veteran stated that he had injury to the neck playing basketball "20 years ago." A neurology consultation from July 2017 noted neck pain and a report that the Veteran experienced neck trauma 32 years ago when playing basketball and fell on his neck. The Veteran was afforded a VA examination of the cervical spine in November 2017 where the examiner indicated that the onset of the condition was in 1985. The Board finds that the Veteran is competent to report symptom onset and challenges he experiences as a result of his neck disability. The Veteran's statements are entitled to probative weight, as they are internally consistent and consistent with other evidence of record, showing that the Veteran reported neck pain in and since service. See Jandreau v. Nicholson, 492 F.3d 1372 (Fed. Cir. 2007). The Board finds that this is especially so given that the Veteran reported the onset of his neck problems in service in the context of seeking medical care. In its role as a finder of fact, the Board finds the Veteran's account of having neck problems during and since service credible. The Board acknowledges the negative nexus VA opinions regarding the etiology of the Veteran's neck disability. However, as noted above, these examination opinions were found inadequate. As the competent and credible lay and medical evidence shows that the Veteran's neck disability had its onset in service, service connection is warranted. See Flynn v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 500, 503 (1994) (noting that "the element of cause and effect has been totally by-passed in favor of a simple temporal relationship between the incurrence of the disability and the period of active duty"); see also 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a) (Service connection connotes many factors but basically it means that the facts, shown by evidence, establish that a particular injury or disease resulting in disability was incurred coincident with service in the Armed Forces). STEVEN D. REISS Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Sara Leigh, Attorney Advisor The Board's decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.