The Veteran's claims for service connection for acquired psychiatric disorders, including PTSD and schizoaffective disorder with opioid dependence, left upper extremity peripheral neuropathy, and right upper extremity peripheral neuropathy have been denied. The Board found that the Veteran did not meet the criteria for service connection as his diagnoses were not related to his active duty service.,The VA examiner concluded that the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorders are not due to or aggravated by his service-connected conditions.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence does not establish a direct link between the Veteran’s service and any of his claimed conditions, including his acquired psychiatric disorders, peripheral neuropathies, and respiratory disorders.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD and schizoaffective disorder with opioid dependence, Left upper extremity peripheral neuropathy, Right upper extremity peripheral neuropathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 29, 2020
- Citation
- 20070115
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,772 · Granted: 37% (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 20070115.
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 GERD, neck disability, right and left upper extremity peripheral neuropathy have been granted service connection with effective dates of September 27, 2023.
- Granted
The Veteran's disability ratings for right and left upper extremity peripheral neuropathy, as well as right and left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, were restored to their previous levels of 70%, 60%, 30%, and 30% respectively, effective from February 12, 2025.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for right lower extremity and left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected low back syndrome with degenerative disc disease L4-5. Service connection was denied for right upper extremity and left upper extremity peripheral neuropathy.
- Granted
The Veteran's right upper and left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy have been granted service connection based on direct evidence, with the condition attributed to in-service herbicide exposure.
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