Veterans’ RightsAn independent resource for veterans
← All decisions
Denied

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD and anxiety disorder, finding that there was no clinical diagnosis of PTSD at the time of the initial denial in June 2013. The decision also found that the denial of anxiety disorder was based on a lack of a nexus to service due to missing STRs.

The deciding factor: The Board determined that the Veteran did not have a clinical diagnosis of PTSD and denied service connection for anxiety disorder because there were no STRs available to establish a nexus between his in-service stressors and his current condition.

Claimed conditions
Anxiety disorder, Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
How they argued it
Direct service connection
Exposure basis
None
Rating assigned
None in this decision
Decision date
August 26, 2019
Citation
19165963

Veterans Law Judge

Thomas H. O'Shay

Decisions by this judge: 2,050 · 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 19165963.

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.

Free starter guide for your own claim

Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.

We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.

We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.

This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.