The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and a TDIU, finding that his symptoms of major depressive disorder and right knee osteoarthritis did not warrant higher disability ratings.
The deciding factor: The severity, frequency, and duration of the Veteran's MDD symptoms did not more closely approximate occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas. The Veteran's right knee osteoarthritis was manifested by painful but full range of motion even when considering additional functional impairment. The evidence also showed that the Veteran was not unemployable due to his service-connected disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- Major Depressive Disorder, recurrent with anxious distress (MDD or depression), Right Knee Osteoarthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 25, 2025
- Citation
- A25054924
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,902 · Granted: 11% (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 A25054924.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for his awards of ratings for right and left knee osteoarthritis based on limitation of extension. The evidence did not show a compensable limitation of extension prior to February 6, 2025.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for right and left knee disabilities, finding that the current conditions are not related to service due to lack of evidence of a chronic condition during service or post-service continuity.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal for higher ratings for his right knee disability is remanded due to the need for additional medical evidence and consideration of medication effects.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for higher ratings for right knee instability, limited range of motion (ROM), and scar are being remanded due to duty-to-assist errors.
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