Citation Nr: 18150610 Decision Date: 11/15/18 Archive Date: 11/15/18 DOCKET NO. 18-12 786 DATE: November 15, 2018 ORDER Service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is granted. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran is diagnosed with PTSD linked to a verified stressor during active service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for PTSD have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5107 (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.304 (2017). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran had active service from January 1973 to November 1974. This appeal comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) from a rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In a January 2016 Statement in Support of Claim for Service Connection for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) (VA Form 21-0781), the Veteran advanced contentions which may be reasonably construed as seeking service connection for a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disability. On and after March 24, 2015, claims for Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits are to be submitted on the appropriate claims form. 38 C.F.R. § 3.155. Therefore, the Veteran should be provided with the appropriate claim form in order to submit a claim for service connection for a HIV disability if he desires. Service Connection for PTSD The Veteran asserts that service connection for PTSD is warranted as the disability has been found by VA medical personnel to have originated during active service secondary to his having been denied the ability to attend his grandmother’s funeral and subsequently being beaten by his military superiors as the result of his physical outbursts associated with not attending the funeral. For the following reasons, the Board finds that service connection is established. A. Law Service connection will generally be awarded when a veteran has a current disability resulting from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service. 38 U.S.C. § 1110; 38 C.F.R § 3.303 (a). Service connection may be granted for any disease diagnosed after discharge, when all the evidence, including that pertinent to service, establishes that the disease was incurred in service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303 (d). Service connection for PTSD requires medical evidence diagnosing the condition in accordance with 38 C.F.R. § 4.125 (a); a link, established by medical evidence, between current symptoms and an inservice stressor; and credible supporting evidence that the claimed in-service stressor occurred. 38 C.F.R. § 3.304(f). A claim for PTSD based on an in-service personal assault may be corroborated by evidence from sources other than the Veteran’s service documentation. Examples of such evidence include, but are not limited to: records from law enforcement authorities, rape crisis centers, mental health counseling centers, hospitals, or physicians; pregnancy tests or tests for sexually transmitted diseases; and statements from family members, roommates, fellow service members, or clergy. Evidence of behavior changes following the claimed assault is one type of relevant evidence that may be found in these sources. Examples of behavior changes that may constitute credible evidence of the stressor and such evidence include, but are not limited to: a request for a transfer to another military duty assignment; deterioration in work performance; substance abuse; episodes of depression, panic attacks, or anxiety without an identifiable cause; or unexplained economic or social behavior changes. 38 C.F.R. § 3.304 (f). A claimant is entitled to the benefit of the doubt when there is an approximate balance of positive and negative evidence on any issue material to the claim. 38 U.S.C. § 5107; 38 C.F.R. § 3.102. When the evidence supports the claim or is in relative equipoise, the claim will be granted. See Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49, 55 (1990). B. Analysis The service treatment records do not refer to PTSD or other psychiatric disability. The service personnel records reflect that the Veteran received military punishment for disobeying lawful orders and disrespect towards a superior officer on two occasions in 1974. In a January 2016 Statement in Support of Claim for Service Connection for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) (VA Form 21-0781), the Veteran conveyed that he was told by his military superiors that he could not attend his grandmother’s funeral; subsequently “would not listen to my drill instructors;” and “at least 3 times a week, I was beaten up by my drill instructors because of not following orders.” He clarified that after being denied the ability to attend his grandmother’s funeral, he experienced recurrent sleep impairment and began abusing alcohol and drugs. The report of a January 2017 psychiatric examination conducted for VA indicates that the “Veteran reported that he was informed that per policy he would [not] be able to leave boot camp to attend [his grandmother’s] funeral because his grandmother was not a first degree relative, at which point he reportedly became angry and threw a chair against the wall” and he was subsequently beaten by his military superiors. The Veteran was diagnosed with PTSD. The examiner concluded that the diagnosed PTSD “was at least as likely as not (50 percent or greater probability) incurred in or caused by the claimed in-service injury, event, or illness.” The psychologist commented that “after exposure to [the stressor], he has been negatively impacted by PTSD symptomology since the military and … continues to struggle with the effects of the PTSD.” The Veteran has presented credible statements as to having been denied the ability to attend his grandmother’s funeral and having been physically assaulted by his military superiors. The statements are consistent with the service personnel documentation of record. A September 2016 letter by his sister also supports the Veteran’s statements. Moreover, the January 2017 VA examiner indicated there were markers supporting the occurrence of the stressor. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.304(f); see also Patton v. West, 12 Vet. App. 272, 279-280 (1999). The Veteran has been diagnosed with PTSD medically linked to the in-service stressor by a psychologist, as shown in the January 2017 VA psychiatric examination report. This finding is probative evidence supporting the claim. (Continued on the next page)   Given these facts, and resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran’s favor, service connection for PTSD is granted. 38 U.S.C. § 5107 (b); 38 C.F.R. § 3.102 J. Rutkin Acting Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD J. T. Hutcheson, Counsel