The Veteran's major depressive disorder with anxious distress is granted an initial 100 percent disabling rating, and a special monthly compensation (SMC) based on housebound criteria is also granted.
The deciding factor: The Veteran exhibited persistent danger of hurting himself due to suicidal ideation and multiple suicide attempts, which warranted a total occupational and social impairment. Additionally, the Veteran had a single service-connected disability rated as 100 percent disabling with additional disabilities independently ratable at 60 percent or more.
- Claimed conditions
- Major Depressive Disorder with Anxious Distress (MDD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- March 19, 2025
- Citation
- A25025379
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,113 · Granted: 47% (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 A25025379.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date prior to February 26, 2024, for a 70 percent rating for major depressive disorder with anxious distress and denied an initial compensable rating for hypothyroidism. Service connection was also granted for chronic kidney disease as secondary to service-connected hypertension.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of August 24, 2021, for a 70 percent rating for major depressive disorder with anxious distress and denied initial ratings in excess of 10 percent for left knee strain, right knee strain, and lumbosacral strain.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim of entitlement to a separate, compensable disability rating for his TBI is being remanded due to procedural errors and the need for an addendum VA medical opinion.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an initial rating in excess of 50 percent for MDD with TBI is denied. Service connection for allergic rhinitis is also denied.
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