The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, finding that his current diagnoses were not related to his military service and there was no evidence of any psychiatric symptoms or pathology within the first post-service year.
The deciding factor: The April 2014 VA examiner found the Veteran’s disabilities less likely than not caused by his service, citing a lack of evidence linking his diagnosed mental health conditions to the reported stressful event.
- Claimed conditions
- an unspecified depressive disorder, undifferentiated schizophrenia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 26, 2019
- Citation
- 19189280
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 19189280.
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 Veteran is granted service connection for an unspecified depressive disorder but denied service connection for PTSD. The Board found that the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder preexisted a period of service and was aggravated by a period of service, and there is medical evidence linking current symptoms to in-service stressors.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to the need for additional development, including obtaining medical opinions regarding the nature and etiology of any acquired psychiatric disorder other than PTSD.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that additional development is needed due to the Veteran's service-connected psychiatric disorders and her claims for PTSD. The case will be remanded for further examination and opinion.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, an unspecified depressive disorder, and a psychotic disorder is being remanded due to outstanding VA treatment records from the Orlando Health Care System in 1994. The Veteran must provide authorization for these records to be obtained.
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