The Board has granted service connection for residuals of right inguinal hernia, degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, and degenerative joint disease of the right hip as secondary to his service-connected left ankle sprain residuals and left 5th metatarsal fracture residuals.,The Board has also granted service connection for bipolar disorder.
The deciding factor: The VA medical opinions obtained in 2014 were based on insufficient rationale, while the opinion provided by N.A.O., M.D. was more probative as it addressed the Veteran's specific symptoms and provided a clear explanation of how his service-connected conditions could cause his current disabilities.,The private psychiatrist's opinion supported that the Veteran's bipolar disorder originated during active service due to his in-service foot injury.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of right inguinal hernia, degenerative disc disease, lumbar spine, degenerative joint disease, right hip, bipolar disorder
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 11, 2022
- Citation
- 22001418
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,677 · Granted: 26% (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 22001418.
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 remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorders, including bipolar disorder and PTSD. The Veteran will be asked to provide additional medical records and undergo a VA examination.
- Granted
The Veteran's bipolar disorder was rated at 50% and then reduced to 30%. The Board has now granted a 70% rating effective November 23, 2021, based on the improvement in her symptoms.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have resulted in loss of use of both feet, which qualifies her for an allowance for an automobile and adaptive equipment.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an effective date prior to March 2, 2015, for TDIU was denied as the evidence did not show actual worsening within one year prior to his March 2, 2015, claim.
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