The Board of Veterans' Appeals found that the veteran likely developed an acquired psychiatric disorder in service, and granted service connection for dysthymia.
The deciding factor: VA deems it established that the veteran's dysthymia preexisted service but was not aggravated by service. The VA experts concluded that the veteran's current mental conditions are service-connected due to new evidence of a preexisting condition being aggravated in service.
- Claimed conditions
- dysthymia, bipolar disorder (mixed), anxiety disorder (social phobia features), depressive disorder NOS, major depressive disorder, recurrent
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 28, 2004
- Citation
- 0417169
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 3,038 · Granted: 30% (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 0417169.
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 decided to remand the claim of service connection for dysthymia due to inadequate medical opinions and the need for a new examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a lack of recent VA examination, and it is recommended that the Veteran undergoes another examination to assess his current psychiatric disability.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including dysthymia, major depressive disorder, and PTSD, as of March 16, 2005. The decision is based on the evidence showing a formal diagnosis during active duty and consistent lay testimony.
- Dismissed
The Veteran has withdrawn his appeals for service connection for anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder, recurrent. The Board has dismissed these appeals.
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