The Board has determined that the veteran's current spinal disabilities are incurred in service, and thus grants service connection for these conditions. However, there is no evidence of a psychiatric disorder related to service or ACDUTRA, so service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder is denied.
The deciding factor: There is an approximate balance of positive and negative evidence regarding the etiology of the veteran's spinal disabilities, with medical opinions favoring their onset in service. However, there are no competent or credible medical records indicating a current psychiatric disorder related to service.
- Claimed conditions
- disorders of the thoracolumbar and cervical segments of the spine, an acquired psychiatric disorder (major depressive disorder)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 29, 2006
- Citation
- 0640260
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,175 · 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 0640260.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to incomplete medical records and requests for authorization forms.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral pes planus and an acquired psychiatric disorder (major depressive disorder) secondary to a service-connected disability (obstructive lung disease). The Veteran's preexisting pes planus was not aggravated by his active duty, and there is no evidence that the Veteran's major depressive disorder is related to his service-connected obstructive lung disease.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the cases due to unclear service periods and character of discharge, which could affect the Veteran's claims for service connection and pension benefits.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus. The cases of bilateral hearing loss, major depressive disorder, insomnia, erectile dysfunction, and hepatitis C with chronic fatigue are remanded due to the need for additional development.
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