The Board denied service connection for the cause of death and DIC under 38 U.S.C. § 1151, finding no evidence that the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder was related to his military service or caused his death.
The deciding factor: The VA medical opinions found insufficient evidence linking the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder to his military service or his death, and the Board agreed with these conclusions based on the lack of in-service mental health issues and the presence of life stressors post-service.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired psychiatric disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 5, 2024
- Citation
- 24000943
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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, finding a causal relationship between the condition and an in-service incident of military sexual trauma (MST).
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the issue of entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of May 29, 2019 for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder but denied earlier effective dates and increased ratings for other conditions.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, a right knee disorder, and a lumbar spine disorder.
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