The Veteran's claims for service connection for major depressive disorder, sleep apnea, and cholecystectomy scar (gallbladder removal) have been denied.,There is no effective date prior to April 22, 2015 assigned for these grants of service connection.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's claims were not supported by new and material evidence since the previous decisions denying them on the merits.
- Claimed conditions
- Cholecystectomy Scar (Gallbladder Removal), Major Depressive Disorder, Sleep Apnea
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 17, 2019
- Citation
- 19194241
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,017 · Granted: 36% (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 19194241.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's major depressive disorder is found to be caused by his service-connected low back and radiculopathy disabilities, which prevent him from doing enjoyable activities and daily living tasks.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for an increased rating for PTSD and TDIU are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including a new VA examination.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for sleep apnea, finding that the evidence did not support a link between the condition and service.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's erectile dysfunction is secondary to his service-connected major depressive disorder, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
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