The Board has granted service connection for a low back disorder and secondary service connection for left knee patellofemoral pain syndrome and right knee patellofemoral pain syndrome. The Veteran's bipolar disorder is also found to be secondary to his service-connected bilateral plantar fasciitis.,Service connection was established for the Veteran's low back disorder, as well as for his left and right knee disorders which are considered secondary to his service-connected low back disorder.
The deciding factor: The Board determined that there is a link between the Veteran's current psychiatric condition (bipolar disorder) and his service-connected bilateral plantar fasciitis. The psychiatrist concluded that the Veteran's bipolar disorder is caused by daily pain from the service-connected plantar fasciitis, which contributes to symptoms of depression and anxiety.
- Claimed conditions
- Low back disorder, Bipolar disorder
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 26, 2022
- Citation
- 22004251
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 22004251.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for a low back disorder was reopened, and his claims for increased ratings of bilateral knee instability were granted. His hearing loss claim was denied.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a low back disorder. The claims for bilateral hearing loss, hypertension, bilateral knee disorder, and an acquired psychiatric disorder are remanded.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a low back disorder, finding that the evidence did not show an in-service onset or relationship to service.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD, bipolar disorder, and depression was granted. The claim for a low back disability was denied.
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