The Board has reopened the claims of service connection for residuals of a head injury and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to new and material evidence. Service connection is granted for the acquired psychiatric disorder, diagnosed as major depressive disorder, which was incurred during active service.
The deciding factor: A VA examiner provided an opinion that the Veteran's current diagnosis of major depressive disorder is at least as likely to have begun during his first period of service from August 1976 to February 1979, and thus service connection is warranted on a direct basis.
- Claimed conditions
- Residuals of a head injury, Acquired psychiatric disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 27, 2018
- Citation
- 18153021
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 18153021.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a low back disability and an increased rating for his acquired psychiatric disorder. The Board found that there was no evidence linking the current disabilities to military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for a determination on whether injuries sustained in a November 2001 incident were in the line of duty. The claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder is also remanded due to its interdependence with the line of duty issue.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for further development due to insufficient evidence and need for additional examinations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a duty to assist error in failing to obtain private treatment records from the Veteran's treating clinician.
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