The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including MDD, anxiety disorder, alcohol use disorder, cannabis use disorder, cocaine use disorder, and opiate use disorder, but denied service connection for obstructive sleep apnea.
The deciding factor: There was an approximate balance of positive and negative evidence regarding the Veteran's claimed psychiatric disorders, leading to a grant based on the benefit-of-the-doubt rule. For OSA, there was no nexus found between the current diagnosis and military service or toxic exposure risk activities.
- Claimed conditions
- Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), Anxiety Disorder, Alcohol Use Disorder, Cannabis Use Disorder, Cocaine Use Disorder, Opiate Use Disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 30, 2025
- Citation
- A25094649
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,886 · Granted: 24% (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 A25094649.
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's initial ratings for anxiety disorder and TBI were denied as the evidence did not meet the criteria for a higher rating.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including GAD, MDD, bruxism, migraines/headaches, tinnitus, hip pain, iliotibial band syndrome, and leg stress fractures. The evidence does not support current diagnoses of these conditions during the appeal period.
- Granted
The Veteran's Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is found to have begun during their active duty service and continues to this day, meeting the criteria for service connection.
- Denied
The Board denied eligibility to attorney fees based on past-due benefits awarded in a March 2024 rating decision because the March 2024 rating decision was an initial decision granting service connection for anxiety disorder.
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