The Veteran's claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder (claimed as PTSD) and traumatic brain injury were denied because the evidence did not support a causal relationship between these conditions and his military service.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there was no credible evidence of a verified in-service stressor or head injury, and that any diagnosed mental health issues predated service by more than two decades. The Veteran's assertions about an in-service incident were deemed unreliable due to the passage of time and lack of contemporaneous records.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired psychiatric disorder (claimed as PTSD), Traumatic brain injury
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 14, 2019
- Citation
- 19186072
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, right wrist pain, left wrist pain, right knee pain, left knee pain, and a traumatic brain injury as the evidence did not support that these conditions were incurred in or aggravated by active military service.
- Partly granted
The Board granted the Veteran's petitions to readjudicate claims for service connection for degenerative changes and disc space narrowing, C4/C5, C5/C6 and C6/7 neck injury and a traumatic brain injury based on new and relevant evidence. The claims for a cervical spine disorder, lumbar spine disorder, and bilateral radiculopathy with sciatica were remanded.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted special monthly compensation (SMC) based on the need for regular aid and assistance of another person due to his service-connected disabilities.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the veteran's appeals for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, cervical spine disability, mental disorder, right thigh disability, tinnitus, and traumatic brain injury due to untimely notice of disagreement. The claims for a heart disability and low back disability were remanded for further development.
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