The Board granted service connection for lumbar pain, hypoesthesia and paresthesia of the right lower extremity, left sciatic radicular pain, hypoesthesia, and paresthesia of the left lower extremity, and OSA as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected unspecified depressive disorder. The Veteran was also granted an initial evaluation of 70 percent for his service-connected unspecified depressive disorder.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the evidence supported a 70 percent rating for the Veteran's unspecified depressive disorder due to occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas, including symptoms such as anxiety, depression, chronic sleep impairment, disturbances of motivation and mood, impaired impulse control, difficulty adapting to stressful circumstances, and difficulty establishing and maintaining effective work and social relationships.
- Claimed conditions
- unspecified depressive disorder, lumbar pain, hypoesthesia and paresthesia of the right lower extremity (secondary to lumbar pain), left sciatic radicular pain, hypoesthesia, and paresthesia of the left lower extremity (secondary to lumbar pain), obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) (secondary to unspecified depressive disorder)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 70%
- Decision date
- December 16, 2025
- Citation
- A25108468
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 3,038 · Granted: 30% (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 A25108468.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's anxiety and depressive disorders were rated at a 70 percent disability rating effective May 6, 2015.,Effective May 6, 2015, the Veteran was granted an earlier effective date for DEA benefits.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's current unspecified depressive disorder is related to his service-connected disabilities, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected unspecified depressive disorder with insomnia disorder is rated at 30 percent, and the Board has determined that this rating is not sufficient to reflect his disability picture.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for unspecified depressive disorder is granted, while the claim for PTSD remains denied due to lack of credible supporting evidence and in-service stressor confirmation.
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