The Veteran's claim for service connection for flat feet was reopened and granted. The Board also found that the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, anxiety, and depression, is related to his military service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner provided an opinion stating it is at least as likely as not (50 percent or greater probability) that the Veteran’s acquired psychiatric disorder began during active service and is related to an incident of service.
- Claimed conditions
- flat feet, anxiety, depression
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 7, 2020
- Citation
- 20000912
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,170 · Granted: 38% (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 20000912.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining in-service psychiatric treatment records and scheduling a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of any acquired psychiatric disorder.
- Denied
The Veteran's depression was rated at 50 percent prior to July 1, 2016. The Board found that the evidence did not support a higher rating due to occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity. For TDIU, the Veteran had multiple service-connected disabilities but his education and work experience were sufficient for sedentary or light labor employment.
- Granted
The Veteran's depression was rated at 50 percent prior to September 27, 2017. From September 27, 2017, the rating for depression increased to 70 percent.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals were dismissed due to the death of the appellant. The issues related to service connection for various conditions and disability ratings.
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