The Veteran's claim for service connection for insomnia has been denied as his current sleep impairment is already contemplated in the rating assigned to his depressive disorder.,The earlier effective date for service connection of unspecified depressive disorder with anxious distress has been denied because the earliest date that the Veteran expressed an intent to reopen his claim, September 8, 2012, is the currently assigned effective date.,The Veteran's claim for a higher evaluation for his depressive disorder with anxious distress has been remanded as his symptoms do not meet the criteria for a 100% rating under Diagnostic Code 9411.
The deciding factor: The Veteran’s current sleep impairment is already contemplated in the rating assigned to his service-connected unspecified depressive disorder, and therefore does not warrant separate service connection.,The earliest date that the Veteran expressed an intent to reopen his claim for service connection of unspecified depressive disorder with anxious distress was September 8, 2012, which is the currently assigned effective date. Therefore, no earlier effective date can be granted.,The Veteran's symptoms do not meet the criteria for a 100% rating under Diagnostic Code 9411 as they do not include gross impairment in thought processes or communication; persistent delusions or hallucinations; grossly inappropriate behavior; persistent danger of hurting self or others; intermittent inability to perform activities of daily living (including maintenance of minimal personal hygiene); disorientation to time or place; memory loss for names of close relatives, own occupation, or own name.
- Claimed conditions
- Insomnia, Depressive Disorder with Anxious Distress
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 70%
- Decision date
- August 29, 2018
- Citation
- 18129733
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 18129733.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
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 remanded the case due to an inadequate opinion regarding the relationship between any current acquired psychiatric disorder and service, specifically a claimed in-service personal assault. The Veteran's contentions are that he did not report or seek treatment for this assault because he feared it would complicate his discharge.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for a separate disability rating for insomnia is denied as it is subsumed under his service-connected PTSD.,The effective date for the grant of service connection for PTSD is denied as no new and material evidence was submitted within one year of the July 1986 denial, making the June 9, 2017, claim without legal merit.,The effective date for the grant of service connection for OSA is denied as no new and material evidence was submitted within one year of the April 2013 denial, making the June 9, 2017, claim without legal merit.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection claim for insomnia is granted as the evidence supports a finding that his current insomnia began during and has continued since service, and was at least as likely as not caused by service.
- Granted
The Board has granted a 70 percent disability rating for the Veteran's service-connected MDD, including insomnia and anxiety disorder, effective from November 13, 2024. The decision concludes that the Veteran's symptoms have most nearly approximated occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas.
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