The Board found that the veteran's current psychiatric disability, diagnosed as depressive disorder not otherwise specified, was not incurred in service or within a year of discharge and is not etiologically related to active service. As such, the claim for service connection was denied.
The deciding factor: There was no evidence of a psychosis during service or within one year post-service, and the veteran's current diagnosis does not meet the criteria for a psychotic disorder.
- Claimed conditions
- depressive disorder, not otherwise specified
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 17, 2007
- Citation
- 0711359
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 0711359.
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 the Veteran's appeal for a rating greater than 30 percent for her psychiatric disability prior to March 5, 2019.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient examination regarding the relationship between the Veteran's service-connected anxiety disorder and depressive disorder, not otherwise specified, and his obstructive sleep apnea. The examiner is required to address whether obesity, which may be an intermediary factor, was a substantial factor in causing or aggravating the Veteran's OSA.
- Granted
The Veteran's sleep apnea is found to be caused by his service-connected PTSD, with obesity being an intermediate step in the multi-causal chain. As a result, the Board grants service connection for sleep apnea on a secondary basis.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected depressive disorder is rated as 70 percent disabling throughout the period on appeal. The Board has granted a disability rating of 100 percent for total occupational and social impairment caused by the Veteran's depressive disorder.
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