The Board granted a 70 percent rating for the veteran's unspecified depressive disorder with unspecified anxiety disorder and alcohol use disorder, but denied increased ratings for bilateral pes planus with plantar fasciitis and lateral collateral ligament sprain with instability, left ankle.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's psychiatric disability was productive of occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas due to symptoms such as depressed mood, anxiety, suspiciousness, flattened affect, disturbances of motivation and mood, difficulty in adapting to stressful circumstances, including work or a worklike setting. The other disabilities did not meet the criteria for higher ratings.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral pes planus with plantar fasciitis, Lateral collateral ligament sprain with instability, left ankle, Unspecified depressive disorder with unspecified anxiety disorder and alcohol use disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 70%
- Decision date
- February 6, 2025
- Citation
- A25011021
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,858 · Granted: 24% (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 A25011021.
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection has been granted, but the effective dates are determined based on new evidence received after initial decisions. The Veteran is now rated at 100% for congestive heart failure with cardiomyopathy and hypertensive heart disease and arteriosclerotic heart disease as of September 6, 2023.
- Partly granted
The Board denied an initial rating higher than 30 percent for bilateral pes planus with plantar fasciitis, granted service connection for adjustment disorder, and denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and other benefits due to insufficient evidence of disability severity beyond the current ratings.
- Partly granted
The Board granted the Veteran's appeal for service connection for radiculopathy of the femoral and sciatic nerves, but denied it for degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine and bilateral pes planus with plantar fasciitis. Agent fees were awarded in part.
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