The Veteran's claim for service connection for a psychiatric disability, to include bipolar disorder and anxiety, is granted. The Veteran's claim for service connection for a neck disability is also granted. The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for IBS is dismissed. The Veteran's claim for TDIU is remanded.
The deciding factor: The decision finds that the evidence is at least in equipoise with regard to establishing a positive relationship between active service and current psychiatric disabilities, including bipolar disorder and anxiety. It also finds that there is a positive etiological nexus between the Veteran’s service and a current neck disability of cervical spine degenerative disease.
- Claimed conditions
- psychiatric disability, neck disability
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 24, 2019
- Citation
- 19140471
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,645 · Granted: 19% (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 19140471.
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 decided to remand the claim for service connection of a neck disability due to pre-decisional error in not obtaining a VA examination and medical opinion.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for neck and back disabilities due to a lack of medical evidence supporting the Veteran's assertions. The VA will obtain an examination and provide an opinion on whether these disabilities are related to service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for left leg shin splints, right leg shin splints, back disability, and neck disability due to insufficient evidence in the record regarding these conditions.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for neck and back disabilities, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are related to his military service.
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