The Board denied the veteran's request for an effective date earlier than January 28, 2022, for his 70 percent disability rating for specific phobia disorder.
The deciding factor: It is not factually ascertainable that the symptoms of the Veteran's specific phobia disorder increased in severity such that they first approximated the criteria for a 70 percent disability rating during the year before January 28, 2022.
- Claimed conditions
- specific phobia disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- January 16, 2025
- Citation
- A25004237
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,156 · Granted: 29% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation A25004237.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, other than PTSD, to include anxiety, depression and specific phobia disorder. The decision also addressed eligibility for VA health care benefits under 38 U.S.C. Chapter 17 and entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU).
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board has granted service connection for bipolar disorder with symptoms of depression and anxiety, as well as specific phobia disorder. However, it denied the claims for depressive disorder, dysthymic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, alcohol use disorder, and antisocial personality disorder.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
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