The veteran's claim for restoration of a 20 percent evaluation for residuals of shell fragment wounds to the right neck and posterior right shoulder is granted from August 15, 1989.,The veteran's claims for increased evaluations for PTSD are denied as he failed to report for scheduled VA examinations without good cause.
The deciding factor: The reduction in rating was legally improper due to failure to apply the provisions of 38 C.F.R. § 3.344, and thus the May 1990 rating decision is void ab initio as not in accordance with the law.,The veteran failed to report for scheduled VA examinations without providing good cause.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of shell fragment wounds to the right neck and posterior right shoulder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 15, 2001
- Citation
- 0116439
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 0116439.
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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include unspecified depressive disorder with social anxiety disorder and PTSD, resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for PTSD to be readjudicated on the merits due to new and relevant evidence.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for sleep apnea and an initial rating in excess of 50 percent for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as the evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were related to or caused by the Veteran's military service.
- Partly granted
The veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions were denied, except for tinnitus and bilateral hearing loss disability which were granted. The veteran was also granted service connection for hypertension.
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