The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, was previously denied in April 2015. New and material evidence has been submitted to reopen this claim, but the preponderance of the evidence is against finding that her psychiatric disorder began during service or is otherwise related to her service. The fracture of her left foot was not caused by her service-connected right knee disability.
The deciding factor: The medical opinions are more persuasive than the Veteran's lay statements regarding the cause and origin of her psychiatric disorders, including PTSD, which she attributes to in-service sexual assault. There is no credible evidence of a stressor in service or a diagnosed psychiatric disorder related to her service.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired Psychiatric Disorder (including PTSD), Fracture of Left Foot
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 12, 2021
- Citation
- 21062898
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,669 · Granted: 23% (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 21062898.
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 claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, finding insufficient evidence to support a diagnosis of any such condition.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, is at least as likely as not related to her in-service MST. Therefore, service connection for this condition is granted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claims of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including alcohol use disorder with cannabis use disorder. The Veteran's statements regarding in-service stressors were not credible and further verification is needed.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for a compensable evaluation for bilateral hearing loss has been denied.,The Veteran's right shoulder increased evaluation claim was dismissed due to his withdrawal of the appeal.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, is remanded and requires further examination.
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