The Board has determined that the veteran's current psychiatric disability, diagnosed as a substance-induced mood disorder, was not incurred in or aggravated by his active military service and may not be presumed to have been incurred in service.
The deciding factor: There is no competent medical evidence showing any diagnosis of a mood disorder during service. The earliest competent medical evidence showing a diagnosis of any such psychiatric disorder is from 1992, which is a decade after the veteran separated from service.
- Claimed conditions
- substance induced mood disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- August 16, 2006
- Citation
- 0625296
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 180 · Granted: 28% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0625296.
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.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board granted an earlier effective date of October 10, 2008, for the award of a 100 percent rating for the Veteran's service-connected psychiatric disability.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection for left ear hearing loss and an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, major depressive disorder, and substance induced mood disorder, are remanded for further development.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error, specifically regarding the lack of consideration of in-service stressors and post-discharge symptoms. The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorders are being reviewed for service connection.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder other than persistent depressive disorder, to include PTSD, is remanded due to incomplete VA examination and insufficient private opinions. A new VA examination with a psychiatrist or psychologist is needed.
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