The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for anxiety disorder as secondary to his service-connected lumbar spine degenerative disc disease. The issue of an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for lumbar spine degenerative disc disease is remanded.
The deciding factor: A private psychologist provided a medical opinion linking the Veteran's diagnosed anxiety disorder to his service-connected lumbar spine degenerative disc disease, finding that the pain from the lumbar condition aggravated the Veteran's anxiety disorder.
- Claimed conditions
- anxiety disorder, lumbar spine degenerative disc disease
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 2, 2015
- Citation
- 1550456
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 1550456.
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 Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension and increased rating for anxiety disorder have been denied. The Board found that there is no evidence of a current disability meeting the criteria for hypertension, and the Veteran's anxiety disorder does not meet the criteria for a higher rating.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claim for service connection for a low back disability, as there are insufficient medical opinions and records. The case will be returned to the AOJ for further development.
- Denied
The Veteran's initial rating for lumbar spine degenerative disc disease was denied, and his claims for right knee, left knee, right hand, left hand, GERD, neck disability, and bilateral hearing loss were also denied. The effective date of service connection for obstructive sleep apnea was granted on December 14, 2022.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's tinnitus was granted service connection. The Board found the VA audiological examination inadequate for adjudicative purposes and remanded for an adequate VA audiological examination to determine if the Veteran has bilateral hearing loss. Service connection for PTSD, anxiety disorder, and depression is also remanded as there are insufficient competent medical evidence on file.
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