The Veteran's request to reopen his finally denied claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, was granted. The Board found that the evidence presented raised a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim and established a nexus between the Veteran's current psychiatric conditions and his military service.
The deciding factor: The new evidence provided by the VA examination report, private psychological evaluation, and VA treatment records related to an unestablished fact (in-service stressors) and raised a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim for service connection. The Board found that the Veteran's assertions regarding his stresses from military duties were credible and consistent with his service.
- Claimed conditions
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Major depressive disorder, General anxiety disorder, Adjustment disorder
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 17, 2021
- Citation
- 21008499
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 21008499.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected major depressive disorder does not render him in need of regular aid and attendance or confined to his home, thus SMC based on housebound status and/or need for regular aid and attendance is denied.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted special monthly compensation (SMC) at the (o) rate and SMC at the (r)(2) rate, effective January 19, 2025. The decision finds that the Veteran's service-connected conditions warrant these awards due to his need for aid and attendance.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an effective date prior to December 27, 2019 for the grant of service connection for PTSD was denied as there is no earlier claim document in the claims file and the Veteran did not timely perfect an appeal.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including major depressive disorder, as secondary to his already service-connected hearing loss and tinnitus.
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