The Veteran's major depressive disorder and low back disability are found to have begun in service, with no evidence of pre-service onset or intervening events that would warrant reopening the claims. Both conditions are considered direct service connection cases.,Service records document the Veteran's complaints of psychiatric symptoms during active duty, including insomnia and depression, as well as her current diagnosis of major depressive disorder. Her low back disability is also linked to in-service injuries, with no evidence of pre-service onset or intervening events that would warrant reopening the claims.
The deciding factor: The competent medical evidence supports a finding that both conditions began during service and have persisted since then.
- Claimed conditions
- Major Depressive Disorder, Low Back Disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 1, 2016
- Citation
- 1641974
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 1641974.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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- Remanded (sent back)
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