The Board denied service connection for PTSD because the Veteran's own willful misconduct caused his PTSD, which precludes service connection.
The deciding factor: The court-martial conviction found the Veteran guilty of assault during a self-defense incident, and this behavior is considered 'willful misconduct' under VA regulations.
- Claimed conditions
- Posttraumatic Disorder (PTSD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 26, 2019
- Citation
- 19122085
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,017 · Granted: 36% (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 19122085.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 70 percent disability rating for PTSD and denied an increased rating for tinnitus, while remanding the issue of entitlement to TDIU.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the Veteran's claims of service connection for PTSD, Anxiety Disorder, High Blood Pressure, and Tinnitus. The rating for his unspecified depressive disorder with unspecified trauma and stressor related disorder was reduced from 70% to 50%, effective August 1, 2022.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to errors in fulfilling pre-decisional duty to assist, including verifying the Veteran's claimed in-service stressors and obtaining VA examination for PTSD.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and depression, finding that there was no evidence linking his current condition to his military service.
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