The Board denied service connection for a lower back disability and PTSD based on personal assault due to lack of credible evidence supporting the claimed in-service stressor and no medical evidence linking current disabilities to service.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not establish a link between the Veteran's lower back disability or PTSD and his military service, as there was no credible evidence corroborating the reported in-service stressor and no medical evidence directly connecting the conditions to service.
- Claimed conditions
- lower back disability, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) based on personal assault
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 27, 2009
- Citation
- 0911480
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 a lower back disability, finding that the Veteran's current condition had its onset during his service and has progressively worsened since separation.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 70 percent disability rating for PTSD, effective March 8, 2023, but no earlier. Other claims were denied or remanded.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for lower back disability, right shoulder disability, and traumatic brain injury (TBI) was denied due to the untimely filing of the Board Appeal request.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for tinnitus, a lower back disability, residuals of inguinal hernia repair, residuals of umbilical hernia repair, and sinusitis. Service connection was denied for an ulcer, bilateral hearing loss, hypertension, diabetes mellitus type II, and acne.
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