The Board found that the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including major depressive disorder, is not shown to be causally or etiologically related to any injury, illness, or incident during service. Therefore, service connection for this condition was denied.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner opined that it was less likely than not that the Veteran's current mental health diagnosis had its origin during his period of active military service and could not be linked to the anthrax vaccinations he received in service without resorting to mere speculation.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired Psychiatric Disorder (including Major Depressive Disorder)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 18, 2017
- Citation
- 1701310
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 1701310.
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 Board has granted an effective date of June 14, 2002 for the grant of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder (including Major Depressive Disorder). The case is remanded to assign initial ratings for the period from June 14, 2002 to March 30, 2011.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied service connection for PTSD and remanded the issue of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder other than PTSD. The case is now pending again with additional development required.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional examinations and determinations regarding his service-connected conditions, including increased ratings for Tension Headache Disability, Acquired Psychiatric Disorder (including Major Depressive Disorder), Bilateral Epicondylitis of the Right and Left Elbows, and GERD.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
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