The Veteran's claims for service connection for major depressive disorder and chronic rhinitis are granted. Service connection is denied for lumbar spine DDD, DA, and left hip disorder.
The deciding factor: Service records show the Veteran served in Kuwait and Iraq during his active duty, which provided a basis for diagnosing him with PTSD and an acquired psychiatric disorder (major depressive disorder). The VA examiner found no causal link between these conditions and service. For the lumbar spine DDD and DA, as well as left hip disorder, the VA examiner concluded that there was insufficient evidence to establish a connection to service.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired Psychiatric Disorder: Major Depression, Upper Respiratory Disorder: Chronic Rhinitis, Lumbar Spine DDD and DA, Left Hip Disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 19, 2019
- Citation
- 19119759
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,963 · Granted: 32% (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 19119759.
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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- Granted
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