The Board denied an effective date earlier than February 8, 2023 for the award of service connection for a mood disorder with depressive features secondary to service-connected conditions.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not show that the Veteran had filed a claim or intent-to-file prior to February 8, 2023, which was necessary to establish an earlier effective date.
- Claimed conditions
- mood disorder with depressive features
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- April 17, 2025
- Citation
- A25035620
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,977 · Granted: 27% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation A25035620.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for a mood disorder with depressive features was granted, effective March 23, 2023.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board granted an effective date of June 27, 2016, for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability and special monthly compensation.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Veteran was granted an initial 70 percent disability rating for a mood disorder with depressive features from June 22, 2000 until January 1, 2003 and a 100 percent rating from January 1, 2003 until January 25, 2012. The claim for an increased rating was denied for the period starting August 5, 2020.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board granted earlier effective dates of September 22, 2022, for service connection and increased ratings based on the Veteran's intent to file a claim received on that date.
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