The Veteran's service-connected major depressive disorder prevents her from obtaining and maintaining substantially gainful employment, but the evidence does not show that it rises to a level of substantially precluding employment.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's major depressive disorder is rated at 70% disabling, which meets the schedular requirement for TDIU. However, the evidence does not indicate that her depression prevents her from obtaining and maintaining substantially gainful employment.
- Claimed conditions
- Major depressive disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 70%
- Decision date
- January 24, 2018
- Citation
- 1804457
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 1804457.
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.
- Granted
The Board granted initial ratings of 40 percent for lumbar spine disorder, 70 percent for major depressive disorder, and 40 percent for left lower extremity radiculopathy. TDIU and SMC based on housebound status were also granted.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and major depressive disorder, based on the Veteran's military service in Vietnam.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, currently diagnosed as other specified trauma and stressor related disorder and major depressive disorder.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for PTSD and major depressive disorder, finding that these conditions originated during active service. The claims for a recurrent sleep disability and a recurrent respiratory disability were remanded for further development.
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