The Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC) set aside the Board's January 2019 decision, finding that new and material evidence had not been submitted sufficient to reopen the Veteran’s previously denied claim of entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD. The appeal is granted as new and material evidence has now been received.
The deciding factor: The Court found that the Board's decision failed to adequately discuss relevant medical evidence or explain its basis for discounting favorable evidence regarding VA outpatient treatment records and a February 2017 VA examiner’s opinion.
- Claimed conditions
- acquired psychiatric disorder, to include posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 12, 2020
- Citation
- 20073014
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,874 · Granted: 33% (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 20073014.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for service connection on multiple conditions were dismissed as the issues were improperly docketed and not properly appealed to the Board.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 30 percent rating for headaches with auras and a 10 percent rating for temporomandibular joint disorders, unspecified. Service connection was denied for various conditions including disabilities causing numbness, hearing loss, hip and spine issues, chest pain, dizziness, erectile dysfunction, psychiatric disorder, wrist disability, shortness of breath, ankle and eye pain, and sleep apnea.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issues of service connection for a bilateral foot disorder, an acquired psychiatric disorder, a skin disorder, and a sleep disorder, as well as an evaluation in excess of 10 percent for cystitis, due to the need for further development.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for asthma and an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD, based on presumed exposure to fine, particulate matter during the Veteran's qualifying service in Southwest Asia.
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