The Board has determined that the Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, depressive disorder, and schizoaffective disorder, is granted. The decision is based on a finding of direct service connection without any presumption or secondary relationship to a pre-existing condition.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found no current diagnosis of PTSD that conforms to DSM-5 criteria but diagnosed persistent depressive disorder and opioid use disorder in sustained remission. The Veteran's claimed stressor was not verified, and the Board determined that service connection is granted based on direct evidence of a psychiatric disability during service.
- Claimed conditions
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Depressive Disorder, Schizoaffective Disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 5, 2015
- Citation
- 1533331
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 1533331.
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.
- Granted
Service connection for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is granted. The appeal as to the issue of entitlement to service connection for erectile dysfunction is dismissed.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection for PTSD has been dismissed as the claim was granted and effective from February 22, 2023.
- Granted
The Veteran's psychiatric disorder, specifically depressive disorder, is rated at 70 percent effective from August 3, 2021. The claim for a higher rating remains denied.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for PTSD with alcohol use disorder was denied, and he was granted a TDIU. The Board found that the symptoms did not meet criteria for a 100% disability rating.
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