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Denied

The Board denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include depression, secondary to the Veteran's service-connected disabilities including diabetes and end stage renal disease.

The deciding factor: The VA medical opinion rendered in August 2025 found it less likely than not that the Veteran had an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include depression, due to or aggravated by her service-connected disabilities. The record was silent for any mental health evaluation or diagnosis of a mental disorder related to these conditions.

Claimed conditions
depression
How they argued it
Secondary to another service-connected condition
Exposure basis
None
Rating assigned
None in this decision
Decision date
November 13, 2025
Citation
25013924

Veterans Law Judge

STEVEN D. REISS

Decisions by this judge: 3,217 · Granted: 46% (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 25013924.

What this means for you

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