The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder and headaches on a secondary basis to the Veteran's service-connected disabilities, but denied service connection for hypertension. The Veteran was also granted a 40 percent rating for DDD of the thoracolumbar spine.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence supported the grant of service connection for the acquired psychiatric disorder and headaches as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected disabilities, while denying service connection for hypertension due to lack of a nexus between the condition and his lumbar spine disability.
- Claimed conditions
- Hypertension, Acquired Psychiatric Disorder, Headaches
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- April 5, 2019
- Citation
- 19126025
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,162 · Granted: 21% (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 19126025.
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 Veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD and any acquired psychiatric disorder, finding that there was no evidence to support a link between his current mental health conditions and his military service.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim of service connection for hypertension, finding that it did not manifest during service and is not causally related to the Veteran's exposure to herbicides or service.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current condition and active duty service or herbicide exposure.
- Denied
The Board has denied service connection for hypertension and has remanded the issue of an increased rating for skin condition.
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