The Board denied service connection for a psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD. The claim of service connection for prostate cancer is remanded due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's exposure to herbicide agents during his active duty service aboard the USS Enterprise.
The deciding factor: Insufficient evidence was provided to determine if the Veteran served within twelve nautical miles off the shores of Vietnam, which would establish presumptive service connection for prostate cancer under the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019 (BWN Act).
- Claimed conditions
- Psychiatric disorder (to include PTSD), Prostate cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 22, 2020
- Citation
- 20005114
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 Board restored the Veteran's 100 percent disability rating for his service-connected prostate cancer, effective September 1, 2024.
- Partly granted
The Board denied a higher disability rating for PTSD and granted service connection for lumbosacral strain, while denying service connection for prostate cancer, erectile dysfunction, hypertension, and nuclear sclerosis and dry eye syndrome.
- Dismissed
The appeals for service connection and higher initial rating were dismissed due to concurrent election of review options.
- Granted
The Veteran was granted an earlier effective date of August 10, 2022, for the grant of a total disability rating due to individual unemployability (TDIU).
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