The Board denied an effective date prior to January 31, 2019, for service connection of PTSD with major depressive disorder.
The deciding factor: The November 2011 and August 2015 rating decisions were final, and the earliest claim to reopen was received on January 31, 2019.
- Claimed conditions
- PTSD with major depressive disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 1, 2025
- Citation
- A25102860
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 709 · Granted: 38% (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 A25102860.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's appeal for SMC at the housebound rate was denied as he did not have a single service-connected disability rated as 100 percent disabling, and his TDIU based on PTSD with major depressive disorder alone is not sufficient to meet the criteria for SMC at the housebound rate.
- Granted
The Veteran's TDIU claim was granted from November 7, 2019, due to the service-connected disabilities including PTSD with major depressive disorder.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of November 19, 2020, for the assignment of a TDIU and DEA under 38 U.S.C. Chapter 35 but denied an earlier effective date for a 70 percent rating for PTSD with major depressive disorder.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 70 percent disability rating for PTSD with major depressive disorder, denied service connection for left ear and right ear hearing loss, and remanded claims for a neck condition and right upper extremity radiculopathy.
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