Citation Nr: A26012012 Decision Date: 02/09/26 Archive Date: 02/09/26 DOCKET NO. 200520-94817 DATE: February 9, 2026 ORDER The appeal for service connection for a left hip disorder, having been withdrawn, is dismissed. The appeal for service connection for a right hip disorder, having been withdrawn, is dismissed. Service connection for a cervical spine disability, as secondary to the service-connected acquired psychiatric disorder, is granted. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. On June 6, 2024, prior to the promulgation of a decision in the instant appeal, the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) was informed, on the record at a Board hearing, that the issues of service connection for left and right hip disorders were no longer being pursued on appeal. 2. The evidence shows a current cervical spine disability that was caused by a post-service motor vehicle accident. 3. The motor vehicle accident was due in part to symptoms of the service-connected acquired psychiatric disorder. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. The criteria for withdrawal of the issue of service connection for a left hip disorder have been met. 38 U.S.C. § 7105; 38 C.F.R. § 20.205. 2. The criteria for withdrawal of the issue of service connection for a right hip disorder have been met. 38 U.S.C. § 7105; 38 C.F.R. § 20.205. 3. Resolving reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran, the criteria for service connection for a cervical spine disability, as secondary to the service connected acquired psychiatric disorder, have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1131, 5103, 5103A, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.159, 3.303, 3.310, 3.326. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS The Veteran, who is the appellant, had active service from November 1978 to December 1981. The Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act, Pub. L. No. 115-55 (to be codified as amended in scattered sections of 38 U.S.C.), 131 Stat. 1105 (2017), also known as the Appeals Modernization Act (AMA), creates a new framework of review for veterans who disagree with an Agency of Original Jurisdiction's (AOJ) decision on their claim. Following an April 2020 Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) rating decision denying the issues on appeal, the Veteran submitted a VA Form 10182, Notice of Disagreement (NOD), in May 2020 disagreeing with the denials. The NOD requested the AMA Hearing Review lane for a reevaluation of the evidence considered by the AOJ. Under the AMA, when a claimant seeks appellate review through the Board hearing docket, the Board may consider the evidence of record at the time of the AOJ decision on appeal, additional evidence submitted on the date of the Board hearing (including testimony), and additional evidence submitted within 90 days of the hearing. The Veteran testified at a June 2024 Board hearing. The hearing transcript has been associated with the record. 1. The Appeal for Service Connection for a Left Hip Disorder is Withdrawn. 2. The Appeal for Service Connection for a Right Hip Disorder is Withdrawn. The Board may dismiss any appeal which fails to allege specific error of fact or law in the determination being appealed. 38 U.S.C. § 7105. An appeal may be withdrawn as to any or all issues involved in the appeal at any time before the Board promulgates a decision. 38 C.F.R. § 20.205. Withdrawal may be made by the appellant or by his or her authorized representative. 38 C.F.R. § 20.205. On June 6, 2024, prior to the promulgation of a decision in the instant appeal, the Board was informed, on the record at a Board hearing, that the issues of service connection for left and right hip disorders were no longer being pursued on appeal. Specifically, at the Board hearing the Veteran testified to not having intended to appeal the left and right hip service connection denials, and the Veteran asked to withdraw the issues at that time. As the Veteran has withdrawn the appeal regarding the issues of service connection for left and right hip disorders, there remain no allegations of errors of fact or law for appellate consideration regarding these issues. Accordingly, the Board does not have jurisdiction to review the aforementioned service connection issues, and the appeal as to these issues will be dismissed. 3. Service Connection for a Cervical Spine Disability is Granted. Service connection may be granted for disability arising from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service. 38 U.S.C. § 1131; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a). Service connection may be granted for any disease diagnosed after discharge, when all the evidence, including that pertinent to service, establishes that the disease was incurred in service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(d). As a general matter, service connection for a disability requires evidence of: (1) the existence of a current disability; (2) the existence of the disease or injury in service, and; (3) a relationship or nexus between the current disability and any injury or disease during service. Service connection may be granted for disability that is proximately due to or the result of a service-connected disability. An increase in severity of a non-service-connected disorder that is proximately due to or the result of a service connected disability, and not due to the natural progress of the non service connected condition, will be service connected. Aggravation will be established by determining the baseline level of severity of the non service connected condition and deducting that baseline level, as well as any increase due to the natural progress of the disease, from the current level. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.310; Allen v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 439, 448 (1995). When all the evidence is assembled, VA is responsible for determining whether the evidence supports the claim or is in relative equipoise, with the veteran prevailing in either event, or whether persuasive weight of the evidence is against a claim, in which case, the claim is denied. See 38 U.S.C. § 5107; 38 C.F.R. § 3.102; see also Lynch v. McDonough, 21 F.4th 776, 781-82 (Fed. Cir. 2021) (en banc) (only when the evidence persuasively favors one side or another is the benefit of the doubt doctrine not for application). At the time of the April 2020 rating decision on appeal, the AOJ made a favorable finding of a current cervical spine disability diagnosis of mild endplate degeneration and osteophytosis at the C5-C6 and fracturs at C7. Further, the AOJ found that the neck disabilities were related to a post-service motor vehicle accident that occurred in July 2017. Per various lay statements and the Veteran's testimony at the June 2024 Board hearing, the Veteran does not disagree that the currently diagnosed neck disability is due to the post-service motor vehicle accident. Rather, it is the Veteran's primary contention that benefits under the provisions of 38 U.S.C. § 1151 are warranted for the neck, as the motor vehicle accident occurred while the Veteran was working as part of the Supported Employment program. While the AOJ at the time of the April 2020 rating decision did not adjudicate the Veteran's 38 U.S.C. § 1151 argument, for the reasons discussed below, the Board finds service connection for a cervical spine disability to be warranted on a secondary basis (38 C.F.R. § 3.310). As the grant of secondary service connection under 38 C.F.R. § 3.310 is of greater benefit to the Veteran than a grant of benefits pursuant 38 U.S.C. § 1151, no further discussion of entitlement to benefits under the provisions of 38 U.S.C. § 1151 is necessary at this time. During the course of this appeal the Veteran has argued that symptoms of the service-connected acquired psychiatric disorder caused, or at least contributed to, the July 2017 motor vehicle accident. Per the April 2020 NOD, the Veteran conveyed being involved in multiple motor vehicle accidents from 2015 to 2017. The Veteran has been 100 percent service connected for an acquired psychiatric disorder since November 1998. Per the report from a November 2019 VA mental health medical examination, the symptoms include anxiety, impaired judgment, disturbances of motivation and mood, difficulty adapting to stressful circumstances, impaired impulse control, and persistent delusions or hallucinations. Considering the severity of the Veteran's mental health symptoms and the likely impact such symptoms would have on the ability to drive and react to other drivers, the Board finds it likely that such symptoms prevented, or at least limited, the Veteran from acting in a matter that could have prevented the July 2017 motor vehicle accident from occurring. As such, under the specific facts and circumstances of this Veteran's case, and resolving all reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran, the Board finds that the criteria for service connection for a cervical spine disability, as secondary (38 C.F.R. § 3.310) to the service-connected acquired psychiatric disorder, on a causation basis, have been met. 38 U.S.C. § 5107; 38 C.F.R. § 3.102. J. PARKER Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board E. Blowers, 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.