The Board denied the veteran's claims for an initial rating in excess of 30 percent for service-connected psychiatric disability, service connection for persistent depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder, an initial rating in excess of 30 percent for nephrolithiasis (kidney stones), and service connection for hypertension. The claim for a compensable rating for migraine headaches was remanded.
The deciding factor: The severity, frequency, and duration of the Veteran's symptoms did not more closely approximate occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity; there is no evidence linking persistent depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder to his military service; the Veteran has been in receipt of the maximum rating for kidney stones from the date of claim and there is no evidence his kidney stones manifest in renal dysfunction; and the Veteran's hypertension did not have its onset in service, manifest to a compensable degree within the applicable presumptive period, was noted in service with continuity of symptoms since service, or is otherwise related to an in-service injury or disease.
- Claimed conditions
- Psychiatric disability (PTSD), Nephrolithiasis (kidney stones), Hypertension, Persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia), Generalized anxiety disorder, Migraine headaches, Sleep apnea
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 18, 2025
- Citation
- A25053644
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.
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- Remanded (sent back)
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- Partly granted
The Board granted readjudication of previously denied claims for service connection for PTSD and COPD, while remanding other issues including entitlement to service connection for an eye disorder, hypertension, tinnitus, a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, TDIU, and an initial rating for PTSD.
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