The Board denied service connection for somatic symptom disorder as secondary to intervertebral disc syndrome with herniated disc L5-S1, finding that the evidence does not support a current diagnosis of somatic symptom disorder and that the Veteran's symptoms are due to nonservice-connected PTSD and unspecified depressive disorder.
The deciding factor: The April 2020 and January 2021 VA examiners stated the Veteran does not meet the DSM-5 criteria for somatic symptom disorder, and her symptoms are attributable to nonservice-connected PTSD and unspecified depressive disorder secondary to PTSD.
- Claimed conditions
- somatic symptom disorder
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 4, 2025
- Citation
- A25009834
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 926 · Granted: 33% (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 A25009834.
What this means for you
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for left foot plantar fasciitis and remanded the claims of anxiety disorder, persistent depressive disorder, and somatic symptom disorder.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for somatic symptom disorder and migraines, both found to be secondary to the Veteran's service-connected tinnitus.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeal for service connection of somatic symptom disorder. The effective date for the grant of service connection for sleep apnea (OSA) was set at February 4, 2020, and a rating in excess of 50 percent for OSA is denied.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder (including insomnia disorder, anxiety, and somatic symptom disorder) and bruxism. The evidence did not support a finding of direct or secondary service connection.
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