The Board denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, left hand disability, and left knee disability. The Veteran's unspecified depressive disorder was not found to be related to his military service due to lack of in-service complaints or treatment.,Service connection for a lumbar spine disability was also denied as there is no evidence of chronicity within one year post-service.
The deciding factor: The preponderance of the evidence did not support a finding that the Veteran's unspecified depressive disorder began during service, and it was less likely caused by in-service stressors. The VA examiner found no link between his current psychiatric condition and military service.,There is no chronic left hand disability documented in service records or within one year post-service. The April 2020 VA examination did not find any impairment of the left hand, and there was no evidence linking it to service.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired psychiatric disorder, Left hand disability, Left knee disability, Lumbar spine disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 7, 2021
- Citation
- 21040787
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 21040787.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a low back disability and an increased rating for his acquired psychiatric disorder. The Board found that there was no evidence linking the current disabilities to military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for a determination on whether injuries sustained in a November 2001 incident were in the line of duty. The claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder is also remanded due to its interdependence with the line of duty issue.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a duty to assist error in failing to obtain private treatment records from the Veteran's treating clinician.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date of August 13, 2018, for the award of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder is granted. The Veteran also meets the schedular criteria for entitlement to TDIU prior to June 1, 2023.
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