The Board denied an earlier effective date for the award of service connection and a higher rating for the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder.
The deciding factor: The claim was not filed until November 30, 2022, and there is no legal basis to assign an earlier effective date based on symptoms or evidence of causation prior to that date. The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder did not manifest with occupational and social impairment sufficient to warrant a higher rating during the appeal period.
- Claimed conditions
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), Alcohol Use Disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 20, 2025
- Citation
- A25100942
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,451 · Granted: 22% (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 A25100942.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to failure to obtain records from Holly Hill Hospital. The Veteran was previously denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including GAD.
- Granted
The Veteran's GAD with PDD resulted in occupational and social impairment, warranting an initial rating of 70 percent.
- Denied
The Veteran's initial rating for service-connected GAD was denied, as his symptoms did not meet the criteria for a higher disability 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.
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