The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include depressive disorder and anxiety disorder, finding that these conditions are secondary to pain from the Veteran's service-connected right knee disability.
The deciding factor: The March 2021 VA psychiatrist opined that the Veteran's anxiety disorder appears to stem out of his military service, while the February 2023 private opinion suggested his condition is a direct result of combat experiences in Iraq. The Board resolved any doubt in favor of the Veteran.
- Claimed conditions
- Depressive Disorder, Anxiety Disorder
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 8, 2025
- Citation
- A25042000
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an initial increased rating of 50 percent for the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disability from March 8, 2010, to May 19, 2014, and denied a higher rating thereafter.
- Granted
The Board granted an initial evaluation of 70 percent for the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disability, to include PTSD, anxiety disorder, and major depression.
- Partly granted
The Board denied an initial compensable rating for migraines and remanded the claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include an anxiety disorder.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder of generalized anxiety disorder and depressive disorder, as secondary to the service-connected left ankle disability. Service connection was also granted for pseudofolliculitis barbae, and a 20 percent rating was assigned for left ankle achilles tendonitis from October 23, 2023.
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