The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for unspecified depressive disorder, finding that it did not begin in service and is not causally or etiologically related to service. The Board also found that UDD was not caused by or worsened in severity by the service-connected residuals of a groin injury.
The deciding factor: The weight of the evidence demonstrated that UDD was not caused by or worsened in severity by the service-connected residuals of a groin injury, as several other illnesses causing chronic pain and functional loss far outweighed the groin pain regarding the overall pain.
- Claimed conditions
- unspecified depressive disorder, dysthymic disorder, major depressive disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 15, 2019
- Citation
- 19137876
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,200 · Granted: 43% (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 19137876.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and major depressive disorder, is being remanded due to the need for additional development regarding his alleged stressors.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder and major depressive disorder has been dismissed as the appellant requested withdrawal of the appeal.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided that the Veteran's service connection claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, should be remanded due to a failure to verify a stressor related to the death of his two best friends in Iraq. The AOJ needs to develop this stressor.
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