The Board has denied the Veteran's claim of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including major depressive disorder (MDD), finding that there is no competent and probative evidence linking MDD to his military service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners found no nexus between the Veteran's MDD and his in-service stressors or symptoms, and noted inconsistencies in the Veteran's self-reported history of mental health issues.
- Claimed conditions
- MDD
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 28, 2026
- Citation
- 26001026
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 26001026.
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.
- Granted
The Board has granted an effective date of March 1, 2023 for the award of special monthly compensation (SMC) based on the need for regular aid and attendance due to service-connected PTSD with secondary major depressive disorder.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected PTSD with MDD prevented him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation prior to March 31, 2021.
- Granted
The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorders, including Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), unspecified trauma disorder, and schizoaffective disorder, are determined to be the result of his active-duty service. The Board has granted service connection for these conditions.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, including PTSD, MDD, and GAD, based on the Veteran's in-service exposure to traumatic events at Guantanamo Bay.
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