The Board denied service connection for a mental disorder as secondary to the service-connected bilateral knee disability due to lack of evidence of current disability.
The deciding factor: There is no current diagnosis of a mental disorder in the record, and the Veteran's lay statements are inconsistent with his contemporaneous medical records.
- Claimed conditions
- Mental Disorder
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 3, 2019
- Citation
- A19001763
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 service-connected disabilities have rendered him unable to secure and maintain substantially gainful employment, and the Board has granted his TDIU claim.
- Granted
The Board has reopened the veteran's claim of service connection for a mental disorder and found that new and material evidence was submitted. However, upon review of the reopened claim, the preponderance of the evidence is against the grant of service connection.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the veteran's mental disorder was present during service and not pre-existing, thus granting service connection.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for right lower extremity sciatica associated with the Veteran's service-connected lumbosacral spine strain, but remanded claims for service connection for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and sleep apnea.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.