The Veteran's claims for PTSD, lumbar-spine disorder and obstructive sleep apnea have been reopened. Service connection has been granted for acquired psychiatric disorders including PTSD, depressive disorder, and anxiety disorder, as well as for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, hypertension (due to presumed herbicide exposure), prostate cancer (due to presumed herbicide exposure), and bilateral hearing loss. Service connection was denied for lumbar-spine disorder and obstructive sleep apnea.
The deciding factor: New evidence provided by the Veteran's private psychiatric assessment and his statements supported a finding of service connection for acquired psychiatric disorders, including PTSD, depressive disorder, and anxiety disorder.
- Claimed conditions
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Lumbar-spine disorder, Obstructive sleep apnea, Acquired psychiatric disorder (including PTSD, depressive disorder, anxiety disorder)
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 30, 2024
- Citation
- 24004571
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 793 · Granted: 28% (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 24004571.
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 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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to a duty to assist error, specifically regarding whether the Veteran's current conditions are aggravated by his service-connected DDD of the lumbosacral spine. The AOJ is required to obtain new medical opinions addressing this issue.
- Granted
The Veteran's PTSD is granted as a result of military sexual trauma (MST) that occurred during service. The Board found the Veteran's testimony and supporting evidence credible, including her VA and private treatment records.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for initial compensable ratings for obstructive sleep apnea and headaches, finding that the evidence does not support a finding of persistent daytime hypersomnolence or other manifestations consistent with a compensable disability rating under the criteria established by Diagnostic Codes. The matter is remanded to obtain additional information from the Veteran regarding his headaches and their impact on his daily life.
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