The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for unspecified depressive disorder as there was no evidence showing that it began during active service or is otherwise causally related to active service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner opined that the Veteran's unspecified depressive disorder was less likely than not caused by military service, citing a lack of reported mental health issues at separation and the onset of symptoms many years after service.
- Claimed conditions
- unspecified depressive disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 2, 2025
- Citation
- A25048489
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board granted a 70 percent rating for the Veteran's unspecified depressive disorder, finding that her symptoms more closely approximated those required for such a rating.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include major depressive disorder, mood disorder, and unspecified depressive disorder due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, variously diagnosed as unspecified depressive disorder and major depressive disorder.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of February 7, 2020, for the award of a 70 percent rating for unspecified depressive disorder and TDIU, but denied earlier effective dates for other conditions.
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.