The Board denied earlier effective dates for the grant of service connection and increased ratings for various conditions, including an acquired psychiatric disorder, overreactive bladder, and a headache disorder.
The deciding factor: The earliest date of receipt of claims or applications to reopen was July 16, 2007, which is also when the Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder was reopened. For the headache disorder, the effective date cannot be earlier than the date of receipt of a claim for increase.
- Claimed conditions
- Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depressive disorder (MDD), Overreactive bladder, Headache disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 23, 2025
- Citation
- A25053958
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 3,319 · Granted: 25% (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 A25053958.
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 Veteran's left ankle disability and headache disorder secondary to PTSD with alcohol use disorder have been granted increased ratings, effective September 16, 2018.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's headache disorder is remanded for further examination and opinion to determine if it is related to service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection for hypertension, headache disorder, and stroke residuals are being remanded due to duty-to-assist errors. The AOJ needs to determine if the Veteran participated in a toxic exposure risk activity (TERA) during his honorable period of active service from March 1982 to September 1985 and obtain VA examinations for hypertension, stroke residuals, and headaches.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's headache disorder, finding that it is at least as likely as not secondary to his service-connected posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
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