The Board denied service connection for PTSD, hypertension, a bilateral knee disability, and substance abuse with residual migraine headaches as there was no credible evidence of an in-service stressor or chronic condition, and the claims were not supported by competent medical evidence linking any of these conditions to service.
The deciding factor: The lack of credible supporting evidence for the claimed in-service stressors and the absence of a link between the claimed disabilities and service rendered the claims for service connection insufficient.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of a spinal injury, fracture of T10 and T9, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), hypertension, bilateral knee disability, substance abuse with residual migraine headaches
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 24, 2009
- Citation
- 0910888
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 an effective date of October 21, 2021, for the grant of service connection for hypertension.
- Dismissed
The appeal for a compensable rating for left ear hearing loss, service connection for right ear hearing loss, and bilateral vision condition was dismissed. Service connection for hypertension, congestive heart failure, and coronary artery disease was denied.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including prostate cancer and related disabilities, urinary incontinence, sleep apnea, hypertension, varicose veins, lumbar spine disability, hip arthritis, shoulder arthritis, ankle arthritis, knee strain, knee replacement, and hand arthritis. The only condition granted was a 10 percent rating for a fracture of the right proximal first metacarpal.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the service connection claim for a bilateral knee disability to correct a pre-decisional duty to assist error, including scheduling an additional VA examination.
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