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.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not support a finding of an acquired psychiatric disability due to active service, as there are no in-service complaints, diagnoses, or treatment records related to such conditions. The Veteran's lay assertions and the absence of post-service medical documentation for these conditions preclude service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- unspecified depressive disorder with anxious distress, alcohol abuse
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 30, 2026
- Citation
- A26040703
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 A26040703.
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 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.
- Granted
The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, specifically unspecified depressive disorder with anxious distress, is rated at 70 percent effective October 28, 2023.
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