The Veteran's claim of service connection for acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and schizophrenia, was reopened due to new evidence. Service connection is granted for schizophrenia but not for PTSD. The claims for left and right ankle conditions are denied.
The deciding factor: New evidence submitted since the final rating decision raised a reasonable possibility of substantiating the Veteran's claims for service connection for acquired psychiatric disorder (schizophrenia) and denied service connection for PTSD, as well as his bilateral ankle conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), left ankle condition, right ankle condition
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 50%
- Decision date
- March 26, 2019
- Citation
- 19122632
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,287 · Granted: 23% (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 19122632.
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 appeals for increased disability ratings for his left knee patellofemoral pain syndrome and left ankle condition have been dismissed due to the withdrawal of the appeal by the Veteran's representative.
- Granted
The Veteran's schizophrenia is rated at 70 percent, indicating significant impairment in work and social functioning.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeals for all issues related to posttraumatic headache, insomnia, left ankle condition, lumbosacral strain (lower back), and chest pain. The appeal was dismissed as the Veteran requested withdrawal of these claims.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the claims for an effective date prior to August 18, 2016, for a 100 percent disability rating for schizophrenia and for spousal SMC for aid and attendance. The Veteran's claim was erroneously adjudicated by the AOJ and constitutes a free-standing earlier effective date claim.
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