The Veteran's depression is related to his service-connected disabilities, and the Board grants secondary service connection for this condition. The low back disorder is not found to be directly related to service or service-connected conditions, but the claim is not decided on service connection grounds as it was not raised in the original appeal.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's depression is found to be at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected cluster headaches and other disabilities that exacerbate his pain.
- Claimed conditions
- depression, low back disorder
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 25, 2010
- Citation
- 1023837
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 1023837.
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 case for additional development, including obtaining in-service psychiatric treatment records and scheduling a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of any acquired psychiatric disorder.
- Denied
The Veteran's depression was rated at 50 percent prior to July 1, 2016. The Board found that the evidence did not support a higher rating due to occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity. For TDIU, the Veteran had multiple service-connected disabilities but his education and work experience were sufficient for sedentary or light labor employment.
- Granted
The Veteran's depression was rated at 50 percent prior to September 27, 2017. From September 27, 2017, the rating for depression increased to 70 percent.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for a VA examination and medical opinion to determine if the Veteran's low back disorder and bilateral hip disorder are related to his service-connected Crohn's disease.
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