BVA Decisions on Depression
91 real veterans-appeals decisions on VA disability claims involving depression — Board of Veterans' Appeals decisions and U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC) decisions, each labeled with its court. Each links to the full decision, reasoning, and citations.
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Official 2026 VA monthly compensation, including the 2.8% COLA increase.
per month · per year, tax-free
Dependent add-ons start at a 30% rating. Child-only and dependent-parent rates: see the full 2026 pay chart.
2026 base rates, all ratings (veteran alone)
| Rating | Monthly (2026, incl. 2.8% COLA) |
|---|---|
| 10% | $180.42 |
| 20% | $356.66 |
| 30% | $552.47 |
| 40% | $795.84 |
| 50% | $1,132.90 |
| 60% | $1,435.02 |
| 70% | $1,808.45 |
| 80% | $2,102.15 |
| 90% | $2,362.30 |
| 100% | $3,938.58 |
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CAVCCase 93-1220 — Affirmed / Vacated / Remanded August 1, 1996In a September 1978 BVA decision, the Board denied service connection for a back disability....
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CAVCCase 01-345 — Vacated June 27, 2003STEINBERG, Judge: The appellant, through counsel, seeks review of a November 17, 2000, decision of the Board of Veterans' Appeals (BVA or Board) that concluded that new and materia...
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CAVCCase 94-661 — Denied / Reversed / Vacated March 7, 1997In order to conduct meaningful research, the veteran must provide the "who, what, where[,] and when" of each stressor....
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CAVCCase 95-984 — Dismissed June 14, 2001Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Federal Circuit) affirmed the Court's decision that the November 1972 VARO decision did not contain CUE, but remanded the matter to determ...
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CAVCCase 97-1534 — Vacated February 17, 1999STEINBERG, Judge: The appellant, veteran Joe Elkins, appeals through counsel a May 6, 1997, decision of the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board or BVA) that determined that new and m...
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CAVCCase 93-388 — Affirmed / Vacated December 13, 1994Duran, appeals from a January 28, 1993, decision of the Board of Veterans' Appeals (BVA or Board) which determined that since he had failed to submit new and material evidence rega...
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CAVCCase 93-644 — Dismissed / Affirmed / Vacated / Remanded April 14, 1995In February 1987, the RO confirmed its October 1986 denial of service connection for heart disease, finding that the evidence submitted was "not new and material"....
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CAVCCase 93-1111 — Affirmed / Vacated / Denied / Reversed / Remanded June 26, 1995A February 2, 1988, VA letter, notifying the veteran that her appeal period had expired and that new and material evidence was needed to reopen her claim, was sent to her at the Wa...
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CAVCCase 95-232 — Reversed October 1, 1996An August 1986 RO decision stated that "no new and material evidence [had been] submitted which would warrant reversal of prior denial....
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CAVCCase 90-1330 — Affirmed September 18, 1992The appellant was advised that in order to reopen his claim, he "must submit new and material evidence....
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CAVCCase 92-144 — Granted / Affirmed October 7, 1993MANKIN, Judge: Joe Elkins appeals the October 16, 1991, Board of Veterans' Appeals (BVA or Board) decision which determined that new and material evidence had not been submitted to...
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BVACase 14-2811 — DeniedKisor’s case, the Board concluded that two ser- vice department records, which were received in 2006 and 2007, were not “relevant” under the regulation because they did not pertain...
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CAVCCase 92-622 — Affirmed / Vacated / Remanded March 6, 1995The appellant has filed a brief requesting that the Court vacate the Board's decision denying his claims for back condition and arthritis, reverse the Board's finding that the evid...
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CAVCCase 99-132 — Affirmed / Vacated / Remanded / Dismissed August 16, 2000In May 1970, a VA regional office (VARO) determined that the appellant's schizophrenia was not related to his military service....
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CAVCCase 94-764 — Remanded / Affirmed / Vacated April 29, 1997In a December 1987 decision, the Board denied the § 351 DIC claim, finding that the "veteran's death was irrespective of the treatment provided and any factor arising from the trea...
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CAVCCase 93-550 — Dismissed / Vacated December 20, 1994In October 1972, an RO decision on appeal found "no evidence sufficiently new and material to warrant a rating change"....
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CAVCCase 97-828 — Granted / Denied / Vacated March 30, 1999In the 1997 BVA decision here on appeal, the Board denied the PTSD claim because it was "based on noncombat-related unverified stressors", and because corroboration of an in-servic...
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BVACase 20005180 — Granted / Denied / Remanded September 24, 202414-09 226A DATE: September 24, 2024 ORDER New and material evidence having been received, the claim of service connection for a low back disorder is reopened and to this extent onl...
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BVACase 230405-336506 — Denied / Granted / Remanded October 7, 2025The Board must assess the credibility and weight of all the evidence, including the medical evidence, to determine its probative value, accounting for the evidence which it finds t...
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CAVCCase 01-1917 — Remanded / Affirmed / Vacated / Granted March 3, 2006§ 7261(b)(2), lead to the following conclusions: (1) In Dingess, the Board erred in not providing adequate notice on how to substantiate a TDIU claim, and, applying the rule of pre...
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CAVCCase 96-1624 — Affirmed July 21, 1998The Board concluded that the veteran did not suffer from any disability as a result of the administration of LSD-25....
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CAVCCase 90-178 — Affirmed / Vacated November 12, 1991The rating board denied service connection for a nervous condition because there was no evidence of 3 treatment for a nervous condition in service....
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CAVCCase 90-540 — Affirmed / Remanded February 7, 1992We find that the Veterans' Administration (now the Department of Veterans Affairs) (VA) breached its statutory duty to assist the veteran because it failed to try to obtain psychia...
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BVACase 23007415 — Granted / Denied / Remanded February 6, 202318-30 679 DATE: February 6, 2023 ORDER New and material evidence having been received, the claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss is reopened, and to that extent o...
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BVACase 23012576 — Denied / Granted / Remanded March 1, 2023New and material evidence has not been received to reopen a claim of entitlement to service connection for chronic migraine headaches, and the claim to reopen is denied....
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CAVCCase 03-1208 — Granted / Vacated / Remanded / Affirmed January 25, 2006Forcier's appeal from a June 13, 2003, Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) decision in which the Board denied his claim for service connection for post-traumatic stress disorder....
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BVACase 19-3106 — Unknown2001), to determine that the “benefit of the doubt rule” under 38 U....
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CAVCCase 90-1306 — Affirmed / Granted / Denied April 28, 1993chronic psychiatric disorder, panic disorder, was first manifested many years after service and is not related to service....
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BVACase 23063112 — Dismissed / Granted / Remanded November 29, 2023New and material evidence has been received sufficient to reopen a previously denied claim for service connection of a respiratory condition, to include allergic rhinitis and sinus...
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BVACase 24009973 — Granted / Denied / Remanded February 29, 202420-27 542 DATE: February 29, 2024 ORDER New and material evidence having been received, the claim of service connection for a low back disorder is reopened and to this extent only,...
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CAVCCase 90-960 — Granted / Affirmed / Denied / Vacated / Remanded September 29, 1992Post-traumatic Stress Disorder When a veteran presents a well-grounded claim for service connection, the Secretary has a duty to assist the veteran in developing the facts pertinen...
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CAVCCase 98-354 — Reversed May 12, 2000In the January 1998 BVA decision here on appeal, the Board denied the veteran's claim for CUE in the April 1977 RO decision....
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BVACase 23038858 — Granted / Denied / Remanded July 13, 202319-09 657 DATE: July 13, 2023 ORDER New and material evidence having been received, the claim of service connection for adjustment disorder is reopened and to this extent only, the...
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CAVCCase 04-0233 — Affirmed / Remanded July 13, 2006The Board found that "the veteran has failed to submit, and the Board is unable to obtain (short of finding a physician who witnessed both accidents) persuasive and competent evide...
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DecisionCase 25014217 — Granted / Vacated November 20, 2025The effective date of an award based upon receipt of new and material evidence after a final disallowance will be the date of receipt of the new claim or the date entitlement arose...
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DecisionCase 24016401 — Denied April 17, 202416-34 356 DATE: April 17, 2024 ORDER New and material evidence has not been received; the petition to reopen a previously denied claim for service connection for a hiatal hernia is...
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CAVCCase 90-1540 — Reversed / Remanded February 9, 1993The hearing officer concluded that the evidence submitted subsequent to the 1953 Board decision was not considered new and material, and that the prior rating decision was "not fou...
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BVACase 200901-107174 — Granted / Denied / Remanded March 26, 2024The Veteran was notified of the denial in an October 2016 letter and did not initiate an appeal or submit new and material evidence within one year....
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CAVCCase 04-1406 — Affirmed August 16, 2006The Board concluded that although the appellant-attorney was eligible for direct payment of 20% of the past-due benefits awarded to the veteran, because the appellant-attorney was ...
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BVACase 230316-331429 — Denied July 17, 2025The May 2000 notification that her pension claim was granted also noted that the Veteran's death was not related to a service-connected disease or injury....
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CAVCCase 94-883 — Unknown September 12, 1996In the June 29, 1994, BVA decision here on appeal, the Board found that the claim was well grounded but denied entitlement to service connection for PTSD....
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BVACase 220615-252249 — Granted / Denied / Remanded August 25, 2025e present disability and the disease or injury incurred or aggravated during service-the so-called "nexus" requirement....
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BVACase 23031314 — Dismissed / Granted / Denied / Remanded May 30, 2023The additional documentation submitted since the August 2009 and October 2012 rating decision is new and material and raises a reasonable possibility of substantiating the Veteran'...
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BVACase 221114-297761 — Denied / Remanded March 13, 2025The question for the Board is whether the Veteran has a current disability that began during service or is at least as likely as not related to an in-service injury, event, or dise...
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CAVCCase 94-688 — Reversed / Vacated / Remanded September 6, 1996) 6 In the April 1994 BVA decision here on appeal, the Board found that during his active military service "the veteran sustained a gunshot wound to the right shoulder" and that th...
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CAVCCase 01-1505 — Affirmed February 20, 2004The Chairman of the Board denied the motion in July 1995, and the appellant, in December 1995, filed a Notice of Appeal (NOA) with the Court....
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BVACase 11-1891 — VacatedWe conclude that the Veterans Court, like the Board, may well have applied an incorrect legal standard under the statute that provides for medical examinations in specified circums...
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CAVCCase 91-1948 — Vacated / Denied August 6, 1993Because the Board failed to provide adequate reasons or bases for its denial of service connection for the cause of the veteran's death and for its conclusion that the veteran was ...
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CAVCCase 03-1204 — Vacated / Remanded July 20, 2006Bradford's appeal from a May 9, 2003, Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) decision in which the Board denied his claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder to...
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BVACase 220930-281637 — Denied / Remanded November 18, 2024Establishing service connection generally requires (1) evidence of a current disability; (2) evidence of in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) eviden...
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CAVCCase 98-1849 — Affirmed / Reversed June 29, 2004In the September 1998 Board decision here on appeal, the Board concluded that, on the basis of the law and evidence in existence at the time, both the July 1983 and January 1985 RO...
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CAVCCase 10-2393 — Denied / VacatedThe Board determined that AZ’s service records “do not show any complaints, treatment or diagnosis for any psychiatric disorder or any reports of injuries from a personal assault d...
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CAVCCase 92-976 — Denied / Vacated / Remanded December 20, 1993Duty to Assist/Reasons or Bases Requirements Section 5107(a) of title 38 of the United States Code provides that "a person who submits a claim for benefits under a law administered...
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BVACase 22059105 — Granted / Denied October 20, 2022New and material evidence has not been submitted to reopen the claim of service connection for Bell's Palsy on the left side of face, and the appeal is denied....
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CAVCCase 93-135 — Remanded December 6, 1994The appellant claims the BVA erred and its decision should be reversed because the relevant evidence in the record compels that he is entitled to a 30% disability rating under the ...
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CAVCCase 93-1098 — Affirmed April 13, 1995Barnett, appeals a September 13, 1993, decision of the Board of Veterans' Appeals (BVA or Board) which found that new and material evidence had not been submitted to reopen her cla...
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CAVCCase 97-1054 — Reversed August 19, 1998In the April 8, 1997, BVA decision here on appeal, the Board denied as not well grounded the veteran's claim on the ground of an absence of evidence of a nexus between the veteran'...
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CAVCCase 90-675 — Reversed October 16, 1991§ 7261(a)(4) that the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board or BVA) was clearly erroneous in its conclusion that appellant's Tourette's syndrome "is not shown to have been present duri...
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CAVCCase 92-890 — Unknown August 8, 1994§ 5108, which requires the Secretary to reopen a previously and finally disallowed claim when "new and material evidence" is presented or secured with respect to that claim....
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BVACase 23012743 — Granted / Denied March 2, 2023The Veteran's headache disorder did not have its onset in, and is not related to, her service....
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BVACase 24000293 — Denied / Granted January 3, 2024The Board will grant the Veteran the benefit of the doubt, and grant service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, variously diagnosed, pursuant to Clemons v....
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BVACase 190913-290924 — Remanded December 13, 2022However, neither private examiner provided a nexus opinion on whether his psychiatric conditions are due to service....
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CAVCCase 95-570 — Affirmed August 12, 1996The Board found that prior to his death, the anxiety neurosis was manifested by psychiatric symptoms including anxiety, feelings of depression, nightmares, and flashbacks....
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CAVCCase 97-778 — Vacated / Affirmed August 27,1998The BVA Decision On appeal to the BVA, the Board found that the evidence did not establish that the sexual assault had occurred in service and denied the appellant's claim for serv...
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BVACase 17-3989 — Denied / Granted / VacatedThe Board found that “[t]he evidence in this case [was] certainly not compelling....
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CAVCCase 90-142 — Unknown September 16, 1991Although the Board increased the veteran's rating for his service-connected disability from 10 percent to 30 percent, the Board failed to assess properly the veteran's condition in...
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BVACase 23043749 — Granted / Remanded August 6, 202319-26 425A DATE: August 6, 2023 ORDER New and material evidence has been received to reopen the claim for service connection for a left knee disability....
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BVACase 23002776 — Denied / Remanded / Granted January 17, 202318-26 279 DATE: January 17, 2023 ORDER New and material evidence having been received, the claim of entitlement to service connection for hearing loss is reopened....
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BVACase 02-03-423 — DismissedOn April 29, 2008, the Board denied Howlett’s claims, finding that he was “not a credible historian” and that the service and post-service medical records “outweigh[ed] the veteran...
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BVACase 19-4116 — Dismissed / Reversed / RemandedThus, the Court finds that the Board erred when it failed to address his contention that he has unad- judicated pending claims for service connection for generalized anxiety and ma...
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CAVCCase 00-499 — Affirmed / Vacated / Remanded September 14, 2004The appellant also contends that a remand is required because VA failed to adjudicate the appellant's claim for non-service-connected pension....
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BVACase 21-6401 — UnknownShe argued that her claims remained open be- cause the VA had failed to address whether certain new evidence that she submitted within the relevant appeal pe- riod for her 1991 and...
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CAVCCase 93-595 — Denied August 11, 1995FARLEY, Judge: This is an appeal from a March 2, 1993, decision of the Board of Veterans' Appeals (BVA or Board) which declined to reopen the appellant's claim for service connecti...
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CAVCCase 93-1213 — Unknown October 5, 1995In the September 1993 BVA decision here on appeal, the Board denied entitlement to a permanent and total disability rating for pension purposes based on a finding that the veteran'...
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BVACase 231010-383562 — Denied / Remanded March 20, 2025254, 258 (1999) (noting that the "clear and convincing" burden of proof, while a higher standard than a preponderance of the evidence, is a lower burden to satisfy than that of "cl...
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BVACase 10-3387 — UnknownDepatment of Veterans Affairs (“VA”) had met its duty to assist Mr....
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BVACase 200504-98676 — Remanded January 17, 2024If evidence was submitted either (1) during the period after the AOJ issued the decision on appeal and prior to the Board hearing, or (2) more than 90 days following receipt of the...
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BVACase 220321-229078 — Denied / Remanded / Granted October 29, 2024Service connection generally requires (1) medical evidence of a current disability; (2) medical or, in certain circumstances, lay evidence of an in-service incurrence or aggravatio...
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BVACase 24032573 — Denied November 1, 2024The Board must analyze the competency and credibility of the evidence, account for the evidence which it finds to be persuasive or unpersuasive and provide the reasons for its reje...
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BVACase 230717-367795 — Denied / Remanded November 20, 2023If evidence was submitted during the period after the AOJ issued the decision, which was subsequently subject to higher-level review the Board did not consider it in its decision....