The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including major depressive disorder with anxious distress. The decision finds that his anxiety disorders are at least as likely as not related to an in-service anxiety disorder manifesting from fear of deployment in a war zone.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran’s anxiety disorders were at least as likely as not related to his service, specifically his fear of possible deployment to Vietnam during service.
- Claimed conditions
- Major Depressive Disorder, Anxious Distress
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 23, 2020
- Citation
- 20005816
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,642 · Granted: 19% (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 20005816.
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
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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- 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.
- 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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for a 70 percent disability rating for his psychiatric disorder, including PTSD with MDD and anxiety, has been granted. However, the issue of entitlement to Total Disability Rating Based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU) is remanded due to procedural issues.
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