The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including claimed PTSD, is not service-connected as it did not manifest during or due to service and there is no credible evidence of an in-service stressor.
The deciding factor: There was no confirmed combat exposure or verified in-service stressors leading to a diagnosis of PTSD. The current psychiatric disability manifested many years after service separation and is not causally related to service.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired psychiatric disorder, Mood disorder not otherwise specified (NOS), Bipolar disorder, Substance-induced mood disorder, Major depression
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 26, 2017
- Citation
- 1729499
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 1729499.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a low back disability and an increased rating for his acquired psychiatric disorder. The Board found that there was no evidence linking the current disabilities to military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for a determination on whether injuries sustained in a November 2001 incident were in the line of duty. The claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder is also remanded due to its interdependence with the line of duty issue.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a duty to assist error in failing to obtain private treatment records from the Veteran's treating clinician.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date of August 13, 2018, for the award of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder is granted. The Veteran also meets the schedular criteria for entitlement to TDIU prior to June 1, 2023.
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