Citation Nr: 21031270
Decision Date: 05/21/21	Archive Date: 05/21/21

DOCKET NO. 14-20 742A
DATE: May 21, 2021

ORDER

The appeal as to entitlement to service connection for cervical spine disability is dismissed.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. On February 26, 2021, the Veteran was notified of a February 2021 rating decision that granted service connection for cervical strain, intervertebral disc syndrome with cervical degenerative joint disease (DJD), s/p surgery (Chiari malformation and C1 laminectomy) effective July 5, 2011.

2. There is no remaining issue of law or fact for Board review with respect to the appeal as to entitlement to service connection for cervical spine disability.

 

CONCLUSION OF LAW

The criteria for dismissal of the appeal as to entitlement to service connection for cervical spine disability are met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 7104, 7105.

REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION

The Veteran served on active duty from September 2001 to June 2005.

This matter comes to the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a December 2012 rating decision. In June 2018 and again in July 2020, the Board remanded the Veteran's claim.

In February 2021, following Board-directed development, the agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) issued a rating decision that granted service connection for cervical strain, intervertebral disc syndrome with cervical degenerative joint disease (DJD), s/p surgery (Chiari malformation and C1 laminectomy) effective July 5, 2011. The Veteran was informed that this rating decision represented a full and final determination of this issue on appeal. As such, this issue was considered resolved in full. Service connection for left and right upper extremity radiculopathies was also granted as ancillary to the grant of service connection for cervical spine disability, as these conditions were noted to be inextricably intertwined. On February 26, 2021, the Veteran was notified of the February 2021 rating decision.

The appeal was thereafter returned to the Board. 

Here, the sole issue, entitlement to service connection for cervical spine disability, has been granted in full by the AOJ. Thus, as the benefit sought by the Veteran has been granted in full, there remains no issue of law or fact for Board review. Accordingly, the claim must be dismissed. See 38 U.S.C. §§ 7104, 7105.

This decision is intended to complete the record with respect to the claims listed above, as appellate history was somewhat complicated, and the appeal was not removed from Veterans Appeals Control and Locator System (VACOLS) after the February 2021 rating decision granted the benefits sought.

 

 

H. N. SCHWARTZ

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	N. RIPPEL, Counsel

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.