The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder is not shown to be causally or etiologically related to any disease, injury, or incident during service.,The Veteran's bilateral knee disorder is not shown to be causally or etiologically related to any disease, injury, or incident during service.,A pre-existing mastoiditis or residuals thereof was not clearly and unmistakably aggravated beyond the natural progression by service, and a current mastoiditis-related condition is not shown to be causally or etiologically related to any disease, injury, or incident during service.,At no time during the pendency of the claim does the Veteran have a current disability related to CFS. His symptoms are attributed to known clinical diagnoses.,The Veteran's respiratory symptoms have been attributed to a known clinical diagnosis of chronic bronchitis/chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which is not shown to be causally or etiologically related to any disease, injury, or incident during service.
The deciding factor: There is no medical evidence linking the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder to his military service, including a reported personal assault.,The competent medical evidence does not support a nexus between the Veteran's bilateral knee disorder and his military service.,A pre-existing mastoiditis or residuals thereof was not clearly and unmistakably aggravated beyond the natural progression by service, and there is no current mastoiditis-related condition shown to be causally related to any disease, injury, or incident during service.,The Veteran does not have a current disability related to CFS. His symptoms are attributed to known clinical diagnoses.,The respiratory symptoms of the Veteran have been attributed to a known clinical diagnosis (chronic bronchitis/chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), which is not shown to be causally or etiologically related to any disease, injury, or incident during service.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired Psychiatric Disorder, Bilateral Knee Disorder, Mastoiditis, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), Respiratory Disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 5, 2019
- Citation
- 19169155
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 19169155.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
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The Board denied service connection for multiple conditions, including PTSD, IBS, cardiac arrhythmia, CFS, chronic headaches, chronic sinusitis, dyspnea, and fibromyalgia. The claim for bilateral pes planus was remanded.
- Partly granted
The Board denied an initial rating in excess of 30 percent for service-connected obstructive sleep apnea and granted service connection for lumbar discogenic pain with right radiculopathy, left thumb injury residuals, bilateral hand tremors, chronic rhinitis (presumptively), and chronic sinusitis.,The Veteran's lumbar discogenic pain with right radiculopathy is related to an in-service injury, event, or disease.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an increased initial evaluation of 70 percent for PTSD but denied evaluations in excess of 10% for tension headaches and in excess of 30% for IBS, and denied service connection for chronic fatigue syndrome. The claims for additional service connections were remanded.
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