The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, finding that the evidence supports a direct link to the Veteran's active duty service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners' opinions, particularly those from April 2015 and January 2018, supported the conclusion that the Veteran's combat exposure likely precipitated his psychiatric symptoms, which are consistent with schizophrenia. The Board found these opinions persuasive over others due to their thorough review of the claims file and clinical assessment.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired psychiatric disability (variously diagnosed as unspecified schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorder, schizophrenia with a cannabis and alcohol use disorder in remission, schizoaffective disorder, and depressive disorder not otherwise specified)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- December 29, 2025
- Citation
- 25015270
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,455 · 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 25015270.
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.
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- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected musculoligamentous strain, right knee, is currently rated at 10 percent and the Board finds that a higher rating is not warranted.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD is granted as the evidence shows a current diagnosis of PTSD, an in-service stressor, and a medical link between the two.
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