The Board denied the claims for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 and service connection for major depressive disorder, as the additional disability was not caused by carelessness, negligence, lack of skill, or an unforeseeable event.
The deciding factor: The September 2024 medical opinion concluded that the Veteran's additional disabilities were reasonably foreseeable complications of the March 2010 Achilles tendon surgery and thus did not meet the criteria for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 or service connection for MDD.
- Claimed conditions
- numbness and loss of use of the left hand and fingers, numbness in the left arm, major depressive disorder (MDD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 16, 2025
- Citation
- 25012968
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,614 · Granted: 35% (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 25012968.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim of service connection for dizziness, TBI, MDD, and anxiety disorder is granted as new evidence has been received. The claims are remanded to obtain VA examinations.
- Granted
The Veteran's major depressive disorder is related to her military service, and the Board has granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for earlier effective dates for service connection and TDIU was granted, with the effective date set at September 27, 2018.
- Granted
The Veteran's PTSD with MDD and middle insomnia are granted as service-connected. The left ankle, lumbar spine, and right ankle disabilities are also granted as service-connected. However, the Veteran's migraines, bilateral shins (tibialis posterior tendinitis), stomach pain, nausea, queasiness, and bilateral foot disabilities remain denied.
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