The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for residuals of a cervical spine injury, residuals of a lumbar spine injury, and PTSD. The reasons provided were that there was no combat duty and the alleged in-service stressors have not been corroborated by official records or any other supportive evidence.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the veteran did not engage in combat duty and his claimed stressors could not be verified due to lack of detail and absence of supporting evidence, including from service department records. The diagnosis of PTSD was first shown many years after service and has not been linked to a verified in-service stressor.
- Claimed conditions
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Residuals of a cervical spine injury, Residuals of a lumbar spine injury
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- June 14, 2006
- Citation
- 0617377
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,055 · Granted: 31% (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 0617377.
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: Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for a higher rating for PTSD and dismissed his appeals regarding increased ratings for tinnitus and a right hand disability due to lack of timely filing of Notice of Disagreement.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's PTSD is rated at a 70 percent level, reflecting significant occupational and social impairment.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal of the denial for service connection for PTSD has been dismissed because the issue was already under review through Higher-Level Review.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's service-connected PTSD renders him unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation, warranting a TDIU.
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