The Veteran is seeking an effective date prior to May 1, 2023, for the grant of service connection for major depressive disorder. The Board finds that efforts should be made to find any possible missing records and correspondence regarding the 1981 claim.
The deciding factor: There are unclear issues with the Veteran's notification about a previous rating decision in 1981 which may affect his current appeal.
- Claimed conditions
- major depressive disorder (depression)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 1, 2026
- Citation
- A26029335
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 A26029335.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the veteran's appeals for service connection for anxiety, depression, and PTSD due to concurrent election of Direct Review while Higher-Level Review was pending.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected depression was granted a 70 percent rating from February 24, 2009, due to occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of December 7, 2015, for the award of service connection for painful surgical scar, left knee, and a 10 percent rating for cluster headaches. It denied earlier effective dates for other issues.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's major depressive disorder was increased to a 100% disability rating effective March 4, 2017, and other issues were resolved with grants or denials.
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