The Board has determined that the veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for service connection for depressive disorder cannot be granted as his first formal or informal claim was received on February 5, 2002, which is more than a year after his separation from active duty.
The deciding factor: The earliest possible effective date for service connection would be the day following the veteran's separation from active duty (November 1975), but since he did not file a claim until February 5, 2002, which is more than a year after his separation, the effective date cannot precede that date.
- Claimed conditions
- depressive disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 6, 2006
- Citation
- 0616488
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 0616488.
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.
- Granted
The Board granted a disability rating of 50 percent for the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, characterized as depressive disorder, effective May 1, 2017.
- Partly granted
The Veteran is granted service connection for migraine headaches secondary to tinnitus, effective April 1, 2021. The claim for an earlier effective date for depressive disorder was denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder to obtain a VA examination and etiological opinion.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for lumbar spine degenerative arthritis, left and right lower extremity radiculopathies, left and right hip pain, right knee degenerative arthritis, generalized anxiety disorder, and depressive disorder.
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