The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for service connection of unspecified depressive disorder with anxious distress is denied as the evidence does not support a finding that he submitted an intent to file within one year before his September 2, 2023, Supplemental Claim.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran's Intent to File was received more than one year after the date of receipt of his September 2, 2023, Supplemental Claim for psychiatric benefits, which precludes him from receiving an earlier effective date based on the date of initial assessment or claim submission.
- Claimed conditions
- unspecified depressive disorder with anxious distress
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 8, 2026
- Citation
- A26002086
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 A26002086.
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 Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for unspecified depressive disorder with anxious distress and alcohol abuse, finding that there is no evidence of a current disability or a link to active service.
- Denied
The Veteran's disability picture, primarily due to Parkinson's disease and related manifestations, does not meet the criteria for SMC at the statutory housebound level as his other disabilities do not yield a combined rating of 60 percent.
- Denied
The Veteran's disability picture, primarily due to Parkinson's disease and related manifestations, does not meet the criteria for SMC at the statutory housebound level as his other disabilities do not yield a combined rating of 60 percent.
- Granted
The Veteran's unspecified depressive disorder with anxious distress is found to be proximately due to his service-connected coronary artery disease, and thus granted on a secondary basis.
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