The Veteran's psychiatric disorder, diagnosed as bipolar II disorder, was incurred in active service. The Board finds that the Veteran's degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine is also related to his military service.
The deciding factor: VA medical opinions found a link between the Veteran's mental health issues and his service, with diagnoses including somatization disorder and bipolar II disorder. For his back condition, VA examiners concluded that it was incurred during active duty due to injuries sustained in service.
- Claimed conditions
- Psychiatric Disorder (Bipolar II Disorder), Degenerative Disc Disease of the Lumbar Spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 17, 2010
- Citation
- 1022518
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 1022518.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim for an initial rating in excess of 30 percent for posttraumatic stress disorder due to a lack of new and relevant evidence, and remanded the claim for an increased rating for degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine for further development.
- Granted
The Board granted earlier effective dates and higher initial ratings for degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, service connection for polysubstance abuse disorder secondary to a service-connected disability, and a TDIU.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for GERD and increased ratings for degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, right lower extremity radiculopathy, and left lower extremity radiculopathy. The appeal for a compensable initial rating for COPD and scar of the left shoulder was withdrawn. Other appeals were denied.
- Denied
The Veteran's request to revise or reverse a January 20, 2015, rating decision that denied service connection for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) on the basis of clear and unmistakable error was denied. The Board also remanded entitlement to service connection for degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine.
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