The Board has determined that the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including major depressive disorder with anxious distress and bipolar disorder, first manifested during active duty service. The claim is granted, and an initial rating of 30 percent for bilateral collapsing pes planovalgus deformity prior to June 29, 2011 is also granted.
The deciding factor: The medical opinions provided by Dr. M.C., a private psychiatrist, support the Veteran's contention that his psychiatric disorder first manifested during service and is not secondary to childhood trauma alone.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired psychiatric disorder, Major depressive disorder with anxious distress, Bipolar disorder
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 30%
- Decision date
- October 17, 2019
- Citation
- 19179402
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,240 · Granted: 28% (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 19179402.
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 a low back disability and an increased rating for his acquired psychiatric disorder. The Board found that there was no evidence linking the current disabilities to military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for a determination on whether injuries sustained in a November 2001 incident were in the line of duty. The claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder is also remanded due to its interdependence with the line of duty issue.
- Denied
The Veteran's major depressive disorder with anxious distress is rated at 30 percent, and the Board has determined that a higher rating is not warranted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a duty to assist error in failing to obtain private treatment records from the Veteran's treating clinician.
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