The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD has been reopened, and the Board finds that new evidence supports reopening of this claim. The Veteran is not entitled to service connection for soft tissue sarcoma as there is no current diagnosis or evidence of herbicide exposure.,The Veteran's claims for service connection for TBI, heart disorder, skin disorder, and gastrointestinal disorder are remanded for further development.
The deciding factor: New evidence has been submitted that supports reopening the claim for PTSD. The Veteran did not provide sufficient information to verify his claimed stressors during service.,The claims for TBI, heart disorder, skin disorder, and gastrointestinal disorder require additional medical examination and verification of exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Soft tissue sarcoma, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Heart disorder, Skin disorder, Gastrointestinal disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 29, 2020
- Citation
- 20007495
Veterans Law Judge
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 20007495.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD is granted as the evidence shows a current diagnosis of PTSD, an in-service stressor, and a medical link between the two.
- Denied
The Veteran's PTSD has been rated at 50% since March 23, 2004. The Board found that a higher rating is not warranted prior to February 15, 2005 due to the severity of his symptoms and their impact on his social and occupational functioning.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD and any acquired psychiatric disorder, finding that there was no evidence to support a link between his current mental health conditions and his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's PTSD resulted in occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity, warranting a 70% disability rating. The Veteran also met the criteria for a TDIU due to his service-connected disabilities preventing him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation.
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