The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, to include anxiety, depression, severe alcohol use disorder and moderate cocaine use disorder due to military sexual trauma (MST), and granted increased ratings for certain service-connected disabilities. The claim for dizziness was dismissed, as was the entitlement to a TDIU.
The deciding factor: The decision was based on credible evidence of in-service stressors and medical evidence linking current symptoms to those events, along with new and relevant evidence supporting readjudication of previously denied claims.
- Claimed conditions
- dizziness, depression, anxiety, severe alcohol use, stimulant and cannabis disorder, allergic rhinitis and sinusitis, skin condition of the face and neck, skin condition of the bilateral arms, PTSD (due to military sexual trauma), migraine headaches associated with TBI, IVDS with degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine, IVDS with degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine, left lower extremity femoral radiculopathy, right lower extremity femoral radiculopathy, left lower extremity sciatic radiculopathy, right lower extremity sciatic radiculopathy, left upper extremity radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 2, 2025
- Citation
- A25040712
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 3,217 · Granted: 46% (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 A25040712.
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining in-service psychiatric treatment records and scheduling a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of any acquired psychiatric disorder.
- Denied
The Veteran's depression was rated at 50 percent prior to July 1, 2016. The Board found that the evidence did not support a higher rating due to occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity. For TDIU, the Veteran had multiple service-connected disabilities but his education and work experience were sufficient for sedentary or light labor employment.
- Granted
The Veteran's depression was rated at 50 percent prior to September 27, 2017. From September 27, 2017, the rating for depression increased to 70 percent.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals were dismissed due to the death of the appellant. The issues related to service connection for various conditions and disability ratings.
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