The Board has denied service connection for left ankle, right ankle, left knee, right knee, left shoulder, and right shoulder disabilities as well as an acquired psychiatric disorder (including PTSD, Major Neurocognitive Disorder, and Alcohol Abuse Disorder) due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to service.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's service records do not show any documented incidents or diagnoses related to the claimed conditions during his active duty. The Board found that there is no credible supporting evidence for the in-service stressor related to a motor vehicle accident, and thus denied service connection for PTSD. For other psychiatric disorders, the VA examiner diagnosed alcohol use disorder and major neurocognitive disorder but did not establish a link between these conditions and service.
- Claimed conditions
- {"condition_name":"Left Ankle Disability"}, {"condition_name":"Right Ankle Disability"}, {"condition_name":"Left Knee Disability"}, {"condition_name":"Right Knee Disability"}, {"condition_name":"Left Shoulder Disability"}, {"condition_name":"Right Shoulder Disability"}, {"condition_name":"Acquired Psychiatric Disorder (including PTSD, Major Neurocognitive Disorder, and Alcohol Abuse Disorder)"}
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 13, 2019
- Citation
- 19146448
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.
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- Remanded (sent back)
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- Granted
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