The Board has determined that the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disability, specifically schizoaffective disorder, is not service-connected due to a lack of evidence showing it was incurred or aggravated by military service.
The deciding factor: The VA examination and medical records indicate that the Veteran had pre-existing substance abuse issues prior to his entry into active service, which likely contributed to his current psychiatric condition rather than any in-service event.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired psychiatric disability (schizoaffective disorder)
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 18, 2011
- Citation
- 1119289
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 1119289.
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 Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, specifically schizoaffective disorder, has been reopened and granted. The Board found new evidence sufficient to raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, thoracic spine scoliosis, and lumbar spine degenerative disc disease. The Board found that there was no evidence of a current disability related to service or pre-existing conditions being aggravated by service.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disability, diagnosed as schizoaffective disorder, was incurred during active service and is granted service connection.
- Denied
The Board found no evidence of a link between the Veteran's schizoaffective disorder and his military service, thus denying his claim for service connection.
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