The Board denied entitlement to increased ratings for thoracic spine disorder and radiculopathy, but granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric condition as secondary to the service-connected thoracic spine condition.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's symptoms were found to be fully contemplated by the current rating criteria, and there was no evidence of a more severe disability that would warrant a higher rating. However, the Board found that the Veteran's acquired psychiatric condition was due to or aggravated by his service-connected thoracic spine disorder.
- Claimed conditions
- thoracic spine disorder, acquired psychiatric condition, to include somatic symptom disorder
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 4, 2025
- Citation
- 25007531
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 772 · Granted: 31% (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 25007531.
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
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 Veteran's claims of service connection for lumbar and thoracic spine disorders, as these conditions are claimed to be secondary to her service-connected right knee strain and/or left knee strain. The VA will obtain additional medical opinions to determine the etiology of the Veteran's spine disorders.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for multiple spinal conditions and a right foot disorder, effective from the date of the September 2024 rating decision.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for chronic fatigue syndrome, hemorrhoids, and a thoracic spine disorder. Service connection was granted for hypertension, and an initial rating of 30 percent was assigned for irritable bowel syndrome.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral plantar fasciitis, a cervical spine disability, and a lumbar spine disability. The claims for a thoracic spine disability, bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy, bilateral upper extremity radiculopathy, bilateral tinea pedis, an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD, and residuals of buttocks surgery were denied.
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