The Board denied service connection for chronic pain syndrome and an acquired psychiatric disorder, finding that the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of these conditions under DSM-V. The acquired psychiatric disorder was found to be less likely than not related to service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners provided negative nexus opinions regarding both the chronic pain syndrome and the acquired psychiatric disorder, citing lack of in-service treatment or diagnosis for mental health issues and the cyclic nature of unspecified bipolar and related disorders which precludes determining if symptoms were aggravated by service-connected conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic pain syndrome, an acquired psychiatric disorder
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 22, 2021
- Citation
- 21009342
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 21009342.
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.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeals for service connection of various conditions due to untimely filing of the appeal.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for sleep apnea and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to a failure to obtain relevant private medical records.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal has been dismissed as he withdrew his appeal prior to the Board making a decision.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for service connection were denied due to the late filing of the appeal requests, and thus the appeals are dismissed.
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