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Board of Veterans' Appeals · AMA series

Entitlement to an initial 70 percent disability rating, but no higher, for generalized anxiety disorder with persistent depressive disorder and insomnia is granted.

July 30, 2026Citation Nr. A26069994Docket 250801-570380va.gov source

  • Generalized anxiety disorder with persistent depressive disorder and insomnia (initial rating)Granted
DecisionAnalysis

Board reasoning

The Board found the veteran’s symptoms to reflect occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas, supporting a 70 percent rating as the level most nearly approximating the disability picture. It resolved reasonable doubt in the veteran’s favor and distinguished the evidence from criteria for higher or total impairment.

Issues

  • Generalized anxiety disorder with persistent depressive disorder and insomnia (initial rating)Granted

Authorities

  • Fenderson v. West, 12 Vet. App. 119 (1999)cited for staged ratings rationale (contextual reference)
  • Hart v. Mansfield, 21 Vet. App. 505 (2007)cited for staged ratings rationale
  • Bankhead v. Shulkin, 29 Vet. App. 10recognized holistic analysis under General Formula
  • Vazquez-Claudio v. Shinseki, 713 F.3d 112, 114-118 (Fed. Cir. 2013)unlisted symptoms considered for higher rating
  • Gonzalez v. West, 218 F.3d 1378discussion of adequacy of reasoning and evidence (example)

Extracted with gpt-5-nano-2025-08-07. Citations are kept only when they appear in the decision text.