The Board denied service connection for a psychiatric disorder, specifically social phobia, as it was not incurred in or caused by the Veteran's active duty.
The deciding factor: The December 2023 VA examiner's opinion and the lack of evidence supporting the Veteran's claim led to the denial of service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- Social phobia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- April 23, 2025
- Citation
- A25037220
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,199 · Granted: 25% (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 A25037220.
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: Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder and denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss. The claims for service connection for migraines and scars of the extremities/trunk were remanded.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, to include PTSD, due to a lack of credible evidence supporting his claimed in-service stressors and a diagnosis of PTSD that was not informed by the record.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for earlier effective dates and TDIU were dismissed due to the death of the Veteran. The Board has no jurisdiction to adjudicate these claims as they are moot.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has reopened the claim for service connection of an acquired psychiatric disorder, including schizophrenia and social phobia. The Veteran's current diagnosis is not related to his active duty service.
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