The Veteran's claim for service connection for hyperlipidemia is denied. The previously denied psychiatric disorder claim is reopened, and the Veteran is granted service connection for MDD as secondary to his service-connected erectile dysfunction.
The deciding factor: Dr. Sweigart provided an opinion that the Veteran’s depression was more likely than not caused or exacerbated by his already service-connected erectile dysfunction.
- Claimed conditions
- hyperlipidemia, psychiatric disorder, major depressive disorder (MDD)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 17, 2019
- Citation
- 19104343
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,199 · Granted: 25% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 19104343.
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
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Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to errors in developing evidence related to possible ionizing radiation exposure and TERA participation. The claim will be reconsidered with proper development of this information.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's chronic anxiety disorder, which was related to service, contributed substantially to his death from a stroke caused by diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, and hypertension. The Board granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim of service connection for dizziness, TBI, MDD, and anxiety disorder is granted as new evidence has been received. The claims are remanded to obtain VA examinations.
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