The Board granted service connection for PTSD due to MST, sleep apnea as secondary to PTSD, and a 50 percent rating for the Veteran's service-connected headaches.
The deciding factor: The evidence was at least evenly balanced as to whether the Veteran's current diagnoses were caused by in-service stressors or aggravated by her service-connected conditions, leading to an approximate balance of positive and negative evidence regarding these issues. With reasonable doubt resolved in favor of the Veteran, all claims were granted.
- Claimed conditions
- Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to military sexual trauma (MST), Sleep apnea, Headaches
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 50%
- Decision date
- May 20, 2025
- Citation
- A25045191
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for chronic headaches, CFS, dermatosis, bilateral RLS, a lumbar spine disability, and sleep apnea but denied a compensable evaluation for allergic rhinitis.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, a low back disability, residuals of a right foot injury, sinusitis, shortness of breath, allergic rhinitis, and sleep apnea as there was no evidence to support a link between these conditions and the Veteran's military service.
- 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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including diabetes mellitus, type II, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, hypertension, asthma/lung disease, vision disability, bilateral plantar fasciitis, leukocytosis, kidney disease/kidney stones, enlarged prostate, sleep apnea, rheumatoid arthritis, lumbar spine disability, right ankle disability, and left ankle disability.
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