The Veteran's petition to reopen service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder other than PTSD was granted. Service connection for PTSD was denied.,A rating of 50 percent for chronic headaches was granted.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner concluded that the Veteran did not meet the criteria for a diagnosis of PTSD under DSM-5 criteria, and his symptoms were more consistent with an acquired psychiatric disorder other than PTSD.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired psychiatric disorder other than PTSD, Chronic headaches
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 50%
- Decision date
- January 23, 2020
- Citation
- 20004912
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,549 · Granted: 26% (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 20004912.
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 claims of service connection for PTSD and an acquired psychiatric disorder other than PTSD due to inadequate VA examination opinions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD and an acquired psychiatric disorder other than PTSD due to insufficient evidence in the record.
- Granted
The Veteran's PTSD is granted a rating of 70 percent, but no higher. The other conditions are remanded for further review.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for cervical spine disability was denied, as the evidence did not show ankylosis or forward flexion to 15 degrees or less.,The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for chronic headaches was granted with a 50% rating.
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