The Veteran's PTSD, bipolar disorder, depressive disorder, and other specific trauma and stressor-related disorder are granted. Service connection is also established for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, lumbosacral strain and degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine, right leg disability, cellulitis, telangiectasia, photoaging, sebaceous hyperplasia, actinic keratosis, and herpes. An effective date earlier than July 22, 2015 for left lower leg laceration with infection and drainage is denied.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's PTSD was established based on a corroborated in-service stressor (sexual assault). The bipolar disorder, depressive disorder, and other specific trauma and stressor-related disorder were found to have begun during service due to credible supporting evidence of the claimed in-service stressors and behavior changes following them.
- Claimed conditions
- left lower leg laceration with infection and drainage, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), bipolar disorder, depressive disorder, other specific trauma and stressor-related disorder, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, lumbosacral strain and degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine, right leg disability, cellulitis, telangiectasia, photoaging, sebacious hyperplasia, actinic keratosis, herpes
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- March 1, 2019
- Citation
- 19115359
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,604 · Granted: 65% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 19115359.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection of bilateral hearing loss and a ruptured right ear drum was dismissed due to the death of the Veteran.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was noted upon entry into active duty service and did not increase in severity during service. Therefore, it denied his claim for service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hearing loss, tinnitus, and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to incomplete medical records and need for further examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorders, including bipolar disorder and PTSD. The Veteran will be asked to provide additional medical records and undergo a VA examination.
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