The Board denied service connection for adjustment mood disorder but granted service connection for mechanical lower back pain, to include on a secondary basis.
The deciding factor: The evidence was in approximate balance as to whether the Veteran's service-connected bilateral patellofemoral syndrome caused or aggravated his lower back pain, leading to its grant; however, there was no current diagnosis of mood disorder compliant with DSM-5 standards, resulting in denial of that claim.
- Claimed conditions
- adjustment mood disorder, mechanical lower back pain
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 25, 2025
- Citation
- A25055041
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 715 · Granted: 43% (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 A25055041.
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 remands the claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder and OSA due to a need for additional evidence.
- Partly granted
The Board has granted service connection for adjustment mood disorder as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected disabilities. Service connection for neurogenic bladder is remanded due to conflicting medical evidence.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's adjustment mood disorder, finding that it is aggravated by his service-connected bilateral knee disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied service connection for adjustment mood disorder and remanded the issue of service connection for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). The Veteran's GERD is being remanded to determine if it is caused or aggravated by his service-connected disabilities.
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