The Board has determined that the veteran's claim for an increased rating for his service-connected dysthymia is granted, with a disability rating of 70 percent effective from May 12, 2003. The issue of hepatitis B was withdrawn by the veteran.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not meet the criteria for a higher rating than 70% since May 12, 2003.
- Claimed conditions
- Hepatitis B, Dysthymia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 70%
- Decision date
- February 4, 2005
- Citation
- 0502702
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 0502702.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD, dysthymia, and unspecified depressive disorder, as the evidence did not support a current diagnosis of PTSD or a link between any claimed in-service stressors and the Veteran's current psychiatric conditions.
- Partly granted
The Board denied an initial compensable rating for hypertension and service connection for hearing loss, but granted service connection for hepatitis B, diabetes mellitus, type II, and diabetic peripheral neuropathy in both lower extremities.,The Board denied service connection for erectile dysfunction and sleep apnea.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for diabetes mellitus type II, hepatitis B, a liver condition (hepatic steatosis and cirrhosis) secondary to service-connected hepatitis B, hypertension, prostate cancer, voiding dysfunction as secondary to service-connected prostate cancer, and erectile dysfunction as secondary to service-connected prostate cancer. The claim for anemia was remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for an extraschedular total disability evaluation based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities prior to April 30, 2020, as it needs additional medical evidence to differentiate between symptoms attributable to service-connected and non-service-connected conditions.
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