The Board has granted the Veteran's claim to reopen his service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and MDD. The evidence received since the final denial supports a diagnosis of PTSD related to fear of hostile military or terrorist activity during service. Service connection is also granted for diabetes mellitus as due to herbicide exposure.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's lay testimony alone established the occurrence of his in-service stressor, and the regulatory changes made effective July 13, 2010 allow for this based on fear of hostile military or terrorist activity. The VA examiner confirmed a diagnosis of PTSD related to service.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired Psychiatric Disorder (including PTSD and Major Depressive Disorder)
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 28, 2015
- Citation
- 1531963
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 1531963.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient VA opinions regarding service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder. The Veteran's claim will be further evaluated with a new examination.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for an initial disability rating of 70 percent for his acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and Major Depressive Disorder, was granted effective March 24, 2016. The VA determined that the Veteran's condition manifested occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to the need for additional examination and analysis regarding whether the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and Major Depressive Disorder, preexisted service or was aggravated by service.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a right knee disorder, bilateral foot disorder, and an acquired psychiatric disorder (including PTSD and Major Depressive Disorder) due to lack of probative evidence linking these conditions to his military service.
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