The Veteran's major depressive disorder is granted as secondary to his service-connected lumbar spine, bilateral lower extremity, and right thumb disabilities. The neck disorder, status post metacarpal phalangeal fracture of the right thumb, lumbar fusion with disc herniation, post laminectomy syndrome and lumbar stenosis, surgical scar, mid low back, right lower extremity radiculopathy, and left lower extremity L-5 radiculopathy are all remanded for further examination and rating considerations.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's major depressive disorder is found to be aggravated by his service-connected lumbar spine, bilateral lower extremity, and right thumb disabilities. The Board affirms the grant of service connection based on this finding.
- Claimed conditions
- major depressive disorder, neck disorder, status post metacarpal phalangeal fracture of the right thumb, lumbar fusion with disc herniation, post laminectomy syndrome and lumbar stenosis, surgical scar, mid low back, right lower extremity radiculopathy, left lower extremity L-5 radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 7, 2019
- Citation
- 19116942
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,548 · Granted: 31% (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 19116942.
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 specially-adapted housing assistance and a special home adaptation grant was denied because he does not meet the criteria for either benefit based on his service-connected disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and major depressive disorder, is being remanded due to the need for additional development regarding his alleged stressors.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals were dismissed due to the death of the appellant. The issues related to service connection for various conditions and disability ratings.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a lumbar spine disability, left lower extremity radiculopathy, and right lower extremity radiculopathy as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine disability.
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