The Veteran's claim for service connection for a depressive disorder was granted with an effective date of February 19, 2013. A rating of 70 percent for the condition from that date to February 21, 2017, is also granted. The appeal regarding Dependents' Educational Assistance benefits is denied as there is no evidence of a permanent total service-connected disability prior to February 21, 2017.
The deciding factor: The effective date for the grant of service connection was set at February 19, 2013 due to the Veteran's initial claim filing. The rating assigned for the depressive disorder is 70 percent from February 19, 2013 to February 21, 2017, based on his symptoms and impairment during this period. For Dependents' Educational Assistance benefits, there was no evidence of a permanent total service-connected disability prior to February 21, 2017.
- Claimed conditions
- Depressive Disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 70%
- Decision date
- June 11, 2019
- Citation
- 19145367
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an initial increased rating of 50 percent for the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disability from March 8, 2010, to May 19, 2014, and denied a higher rating thereafter.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder of generalized anxiety disorder and depressive disorder, as secondary to the service-connected left ankle disability. Service connection was also granted for pseudofolliculitis barbae, and a 20 percent rating was assigned for left ankle achilles tendonitis from October 23, 2023.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, to include GAD and depressive disorder, as well as a cervical spine disability, right wrist pain, and left wrist pain. However, the claims for lumbar spine pain were denied.
- Denied
The Board denied a disability rating in excess of 50 percent and 70 percent for an acquired psychiatric disability, including PTSD, depressive disorder, trauma and stressor related disorder, personality disorder, alcohol use disorder, and cannabis use disorder.
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