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
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for increased initial evaluations of degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine, left shoulder strain with degenerative arthritis, and right shoulder degenerative arthritis due to inadequate VA examinations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, right hand tremors, left hand tremors, gout, and chronic kidney disease to obtain outstanding VA treatment records and provide a medical examination.
- Denied
The Board denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) and special monthly compensation (SMC) for the period from August 29, 2014, to June 16, 2019.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for PTSD, bipolar disorder, and thoracolumbar strain with arthritis, and assigned initial ratings. The issues of Parkinson's disease, dementia, cervical neck strain, spinal stenosis, TDIU, and special monthly compensation were remanded.
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