The veteran is not entitled to service connection for a mental disorder, but he is entitled to an earlier effective date of August 23, 1990, for the grant of service connection for a left middle finger scar.
The deciding factor: The claim for service connection for a mental disorder was denied as new and material evidence had not been submitted. However, the veteran is entitled to an earlier effective date for the left middle finger scar based on the original claim filed in 1990.
- Claimed conditions
- depressive disorder with psychotic features, left middle finger scar
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 26, 2008
- Citation
- 0809997
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 3,038 · Granted: 30% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0809997.
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities are preventing him from obtaining and maintaining substantially gainful employment, and the Board is remanding the case to determine if he qualifies for a TDIU on an extraschedular basis.
- Denied
The Veteran's initial compensable rating for a surgical scar, left middle finger, prior to July 16, 2018, is denied. The Veteran's evaluation in excess of 10 percent for the same condition from July 16, 2018, is also denied.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not render him unable to obtain or maintain substantially gainful employment, and therefore the claim for a total disability evaluation based on individual unemployability (TDIU) is denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate opinions on whether the Veteran's asthma is aggravated by his service-connected PTSD and depressive disorder with psychotic features. The case needs further clarification from a pulmonologist.
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