The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include posttraumatic stress disorder, is denied as there is no evidence of a current disability or a link between the claimed condition and service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found that the Veteran does not meet full DSM-5 criteria for PTSD at any time during the pendency of the claim. The Veteran's symptoms do not align with the diagnostic criteria for PTSD, and there is no medical evidence supporting a diagnosis of an acquired psychiatric disorder.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired psychiatric disorder, Posttraumatic stress disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 11, 2019
- Citation
- 19144608
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 Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, finding a causal relationship between the condition and an in-service incident of military sexual trauma (MST).
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the issue of entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
- Granted
The Board granted an effective date of May 9, 2022, for the grant of service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder with generalized anxiety disorder, other specified depressive disorder, and alcohol use disorder.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of May 29, 2019 for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder but denied earlier effective dates and increased ratings for other conditions.
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.