The veteran's service-connected thoracic spine disability is currently rated at 40 percent, but the Board found that it does not meet the criteria for a higher rating. The claims of service connection for bipolar disorder/schizophrenia and an acquired psychiatric disorder including PTSD are denied as there is no evidence to support these conditions being related to his military service.
The deciding factor: The veteran's thoracic spine disability results in forward flexion limited to six degrees, which does not meet the criteria for a higher rating under current spinal regulations. The VA examiner did not find any unfavorable ankylosis of the entire thoracolumbar spine and there were no reported neurologic symptoms.
- Claimed conditions
- Bipolar Disorder/Schizophrenia, Thoracic Spine Disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 19, 2006
- Citation
- 0611203
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 609 · Granted: 22% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 0611203.
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.
- Granted
The Board has restored the Veteran's Total Disability Rating Based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU) from February 1, 2021 due to continued service-connected disabilities preventing him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation.
- Granted
The Board granted a 40 percent rating for the thoracic spine disability, effective June 24, 2024. The Veteran's disability is currently rated 20 percent under Codes 5010-5235 from June 1, 2008 (the date service connection was awarded) and 40 percent from 5235 from June 24, 2024.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected conditions did not prevent him from securing and following a substantially gainful occupation prior to March 28, 2018.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection of right shoulder, cervical spine, and thoracic spine disabilities due to a finding that there was no clear and unmistakable error in the January 1992 rating decision.
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