The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial rating in excess of 50 percent for depressive disorder with anxious distress, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's psychiatric disability was found to be productive of occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity, but not sufficient to warrant a rating in excess of 50 percent.
- Claimed conditions
- Depressive disorder with anxious distress
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 18, 2025
- Citation
- A25025000
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,645 · 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 A25025000.
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 Board has determined that the Veteran's currently diagnosed depressive disorder with anxious distress is related to his active service, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an effective date prior to January 14, 2019, for the award of service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and a 100% rating for depressive disorder with anxious distress is denied. The Board found that the appropriate effective dates are January 14, 2019.
- Partly granted
The Board denied several claims for increased ratings and service connection, granted initial evaluations of 20 percent for radiculopathy in the left and right lower extremities, and dismissed a claim for service connection for erectile dysfunction.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 70 percent rating for depressive disorder with anxious distress and denied service connection for generalized anxiety disorder, which is already included in the rating for his service-connected depressive disorder.
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