The Board granted Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) based on service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death due to mixed anxiety and depressive disorder, which was linked directly to his military service.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's spouse and son provided credible reports that his depression, leading to suicide, was caused by circumstances related to his military service, including feelings of guilt about being away from his family during combat tours.
- Claimed conditions
- mixed anxiety and depressive disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 11, 2025
- Citation
- A25033981
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 913 · Granted: 41% (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 A25033981.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea is due, at least in part, to his service-connected chronic fatigue syndrome, allergic rhinitis, and mixed anxiety and depressive disorder. Therefore, the Board has granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection for mixed anxiety and depressive disorder is granted, effective September 23, 2025. The claim of service connection for glioblastoma is denied. The application to readjudicate the TDIU claim is granted.
- Denied
The Board has denied service connection for multiple conditions and denied higher initial ratings for several service-connected disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for unspecified insomnia and mixed anxiety and depressive disorder due to an insufficient rationale in the previous VA opinion.
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