The Board denied the claim for an earlier effective date, finding that no communication prior to November 2, 2009 could be interpreted as a formal or informal petition to reopen the PTSD with major depression claim. The Veteran's original claim was denied in December 2001 and did not include any new evidence. Subsequent attempts to reopen were also unsuccessful.
The deciding factor: The effective date for service connection cannot precede the date of receipt of the reopened claim, as no communication prior to November 2, 2009 could be interpreted as a petition to reopen the PTSD with major depression claim.
- Claimed conditions
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder with Major Depression
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 50%
- Decision date
- March 31, 2016
- Citation
- 1613150
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 1613150.
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 Veteran's PTSD with major depression is rated at 70 percent disabling, and the Board has denied a higher rating. The case is remanded for further consideration of entitlement to TDIU.
- Partly granted
- Denied
The Veteran's initial ratings for PTSD prior to December 5, 2014 and from December 5, 2014 were denied as her symptoms did not meet the criteria for higher disability ratings.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for further medical opinions regarding the Veteran's cause of death, specifically whether his hypertension and service-connected PTSD with Major Depression were contributory causes of death.
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