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Whole decision: Denied

The Board has denied the veteran's claim of secondary service connection for psychiatric disabilities, finding that there is no evidence linking these conditions to his service-connected low back disability or hemorrhoids.

The deciding factor: The Board found that the veteran does not have a currently diagnosed condition (major depression) that could be considered secondary to his service-connected disabilities. The other conditions (dysthymia and PTSD) were attributed to non-service-related factors, such as divorce, and there is no evidence linking them to his service-connected disabilities.

Claimed conditions
major depression, dysthymia, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
How they argued it
Direct service connection
Exposure basis
None
Rating
Not verified here — check the original decision
Decision date
January 14, 2000
Citation
0001380

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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0001380.

What this means for you

A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.

What you can do next

Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).

Related decisions

Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.

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