The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and depression, is denied as there is no current diagnosis of PTSD related to military sexual trauma, and the preponderance of evidence does not support a finding that his depression began during service or is otherwise related to an in-service injury or disease.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners did not find a link between the Veteran's claimed stressor (military sexual trauma) and PTSD, and there was no current diagnosis of PTSD. The examiner also found no evidence of depression beginning during service or being related to any in-service event or disease.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired psychiatric disorder, Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Depression
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 7, 2019
- Citation
- 19143873
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,948 · Granted: 29% (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 19143873.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient findings regarding PTSD and depression, requiring a new VA examination.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a low back disability and an increased rating for his acquired psychiatric disorder. The Board found that there was no evidence linking the current disabilities to military service.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted special monthly compensation (SMC) at the (o) rate and SMC at the (r)(2) rate, effective January 19, 2025. The decision finds that the Veteran's service-connected conditions warrant these awards due to his need for aid and attendance.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to errors in the AOJ's handling of the Veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD, other specified trauma and stressor-related disorder, and depression. The AOJ is required to verify the Veteran's claimed stressor and obtain medical opinions regarding the diagnoses and their relation to service.
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