The Board has granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, diagnosed as other trauma and stressor-related disorder, due to exposure to dead bodies and the smell of burning human flesh during deployments in Southwest Asia and Somalia.
The deciding factor: The VA psychologist's opinion supported by the Veteran’s consistent reports of exposure to traumatic events during his service provided sufficient evidence for a finding that his acquired psychiatric disorder is related to his deployment experiences.
- Claimed conditions
- other trauma and stressor-related disorder
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 29, 2018
- Citation
- 18154054
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 18154054.
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
The Board has granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including schizoaffective disorder and other trauma and stressor-related disorder. The claim of service connection for a sleep disorder is remanded.
- Denied
The Veteran's psychiatric disability, characterized as other trauma and stressor-related disorder with a secondary diagnosis of persistent depressive disorder, has not met the criteria for an increased rating beyond the current 30 percent assigned.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to the need to verify a claimed in-service stressor related to witnessing the death of a fellow sailor during drills while on board the ship, which is necessary for service connection.
- Granted
The Veteran's other trauma and stressor-related disorder is granted as service connected, and the right leg disorder is remanded for further review.
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