The Board has determined that the veteran did not engage in combat and therefore, his statements alone are insufficient to establish the occurrence of an in-service stressor for post-traumatic stress disorder. The bilateral knee disability is also denied as there is no evidence showing it was incurred during service.
The deciding factor: The veteran did not engage in combat with the enemy, which means his lay testimony alone cannot be accepted as conclusive evidence of the occurrence of the claimed in-service stressors for post-traumatic stress disorder.
- Claimed conditions
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Bilateral Knee Disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 5, 2007
- Citation
- 0738143
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 0738143.
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 has granted service connection for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) due to a verified in-service stressor, and the positive and negative medical evidence is at least in equipoise.
- Granted
Your claim for a higher rating and service connection for PTSD has been granted. The new evidence supports reopening your case.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the Veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD and bilateral knee disability must be remanded due to duty-to-assist errors. The Veteran's reported stressors need to be verified, and a VA examination is required to address the etiology of his bilateral knee condition.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's asthma was rated at 30% from May 4, 2011, to August 27, 2019. The rating was increased to 60% on September 25, 2019, and then to 100% effective that same day.,The Veteran is granted SMC at the housebound rate from December 7, 2018, to September 24, 2019.
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