The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for various disabilities, including PTSD and heart disorder, due to lack of evidence showing in-service disease or injury. The presumption of service connection applies for former prisoners of war.
The deciding factor: The veteran was a prisoner of war but did not have any documented psychological problems until after his release from captivity, which makes it unlikely that the current psychiatric disorders are related to service.
- Claimed conditions
- Cerebral Vascular Accident, Heart Disorder, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Psychiatric Disorder (including PTSD), Residuals of Cold Injury to Left Lower Extremity, Residuals of Cold Injury to Right Lower Extremity, Ulcers
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- April 13, 2004
- Citation
- 0409555
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 332 · Granted: 14% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0409555.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is granted as service-connected. The claims for alcohol abuse and psychiatric disorder are remanded for additional development, including a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of these conditions.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a lack of rationale in the VA examiner's opinion and an inconsistency between the examination report and nexus opinion.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the service connection claims for Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Heart Disorder due to a duty to assist error in obtaining opinions regarding whether these conditions are aggravated by the Veteran's service-connected acquired psychiatric disorder.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's irritable bowel syndrome is granted a rating of 30 percent, the maximum schedular rating under Diagnostic Code 7319. Service connection for migraine headaches as secondary to service connected tinnitus and PTSD is also granted.
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