The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine and bipolar disorder, both claimed as secondary to his service-connected left ankle fracture.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners determined that the back and neuropsychiatric disorders are not related to the service-connected left ankle disorder.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine, Bipolar disorder
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 10, 2002
- Citation
- 0217870
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 0217870.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied extraschedular ratings for the Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine and lower extremity radiculopathy disabilities, as well as a total disability rating based on individual unemployability prior to February 3, 2011.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for an increased rating of his low back disability is being remanded due to the reduction in evaluation from 40 percent to 20 percent effective May 31, 2014. The RO needs to provide updated VA treatment records and schedule a VA examination to determine the current severity of the disability.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD, bipolar disorder, and depression was granted. The claim for a low back disability was denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided that new evidence supports the readjudication of the claim for service connection for a mental disorder, but dismissed appeals seeking compensable ratings for residuals of right hand 5th metacarpal fracture and left ear hearing loss. The case is remanded to determine if an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, is related to service.
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