The Board has granted service connection for lower back, right knee, and left knee disabilities as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected bilateral pes planus. The acquired psychiatric disorder (major depressive disorder) is also granted on a direct basis.
The deciding factor: The evidence supports that the Veteran’s current lower back, right knee, and left knee disabilities are related to his service-connected bilateral pes planus, while the acquired psychiatric disorder is linked to his military service, including an in-service head injury.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbosacral strain (lower back disability), right knee strain (right knee disability), left knee strain (left knee disability), acquired psychiatric disorder (major depressive disorder)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 23, 2020
- Citation
- 20080782
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 request for an earlier effective date than June 30, 2022, for service connection for right knee disability, left knee disability, and low back disability.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his skin disability and bilateral hearing loss, and dismissed his claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, specifically major depressive disorder, and denied the claims for a neck condition, traumatic brain injury, bilateral hearing loss, obstructive sleep apnea, lumbar spine disorder, hypertension, and left lower extremity radiculopathy.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a lower back disability, including as secondary to a prostate condition.
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