The Board found that the veteran's current psychiatric disorder, diagnosed as major depression and dysthymia, was not incurred during or aggravated by his military service. The evidence did not show a psychosis to a compensable degree within one year of discharge for presumptive service connection.
The deciding factor: There is no evidence of a psychosis to a compensable degree within a year of the veteran's discharge from service in 1952, and there are no records documenting treatment for depression or related psychiatric disorders during his military service. The VA examiner concluded that the onset of the veteran's depression was December 1984, almost three decades after service discharge.
- Claimed conditions
- depression, dysthymia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 7, 2006
- Citation
- 0610303
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder to ensure a proper examination and etiology opinion are provided.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including back pain, knee and wrist joint pains, neck pain, anxiety, depression, as further development is needed to properly adjudicate these claims.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for generalized anxiety disorder and denied service connection for a lower back disorder. The claims for depression, substance abuse disorder, and a compensable initial rating for bilateral hearing loss were dismissed.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for depression, PTSD, and an anxiety disorder due to the lack of a current diagnosis.
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