The Board denied the claim for an earlier effective date for major depressive disorder and remanded claims for service connection of bone spurs and sciatica due to insufficient evidence.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's claims were not supported by sufficient evidence, particularly regarding the onset of symptoms related to the claimed conditions during active duty or their relationship to service-connected disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- major depressive disorder, bone spur of the right foot, bone spur of the left foot, bone spur of the left ankle, bone spur of the right ankle, sciatica of the left lower extremity, sciatica of the right lower extremity
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 10, 2025
- Citation
- A25033514
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The claim for an earlier effective date for service connection for major depressive disorder is dismissed as moot because the earliest effective date was granted during the pendency of this appeal.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for multiple conditions, including an acquired psychiatric disorder, sleep apnea, hypertension, and various musculoskeletal and skin disabilities.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for right and left hip degenerative arthritis as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected right ankle and knee conditions, and major depressive disorder as secondary to his service-connected knee and ankle conditions. The Board also granted a 10 percent rating for allergic rhinitis.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for major depressive disorder as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected tinnitus.
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