Citation Nr: 18155553
Decision Date: 12/04/18	Archive Date: 12/04/18

DOCKET NO. 11-07 194
DATE:	December 4, 2018
ORDER
Entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, other than depression, is denied.
FINDING OF FACT
The Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of an acquired psychiatric disorder other than depression.
CONCLUSION OF LAW
The criteria for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, other than depression, are not met.  38 U.S.C. §§ 1131, 5107 (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303 (2017).
REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION
The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Marines from October 1972 to October 1974
This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a June 2009 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Cleveland, Ohio.  Jurisdiction has subsequently transferred to the RO in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
This appeal was last before the Board in March 2018 when it was remanded for further development.
Service Connection
Service connection may be established for a disability resulting from personal injury suffered or disease contracted in the line of duty, or for aggravation of a preexisting injury suffered or disease contracted in the line of duty, in the active military, naval, or air service.  38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131 (2012).  Service connection may also 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) (2017).
Generally, to establish service connection for a disability resulting from a disease or injury incurred in service, there must be (1) competent evidence of the current existence of the disability for which service connection is being claimed; (2) competent evidence of incurrence of a disease or injury in active service; and (3) competent evidence of a nexus or connection between the current disability and the disease or injury incurred in service.  Horn v. Shinseki, 25 Vet. App. 231, 236 (2010); Davidson v. Shinseki, 581 F.3d 1313 (Fed. Cir. 2009); cf. Gutierrez v. Principi, 19 Vet. App. 1, 5 (2004) (citing Hickson v. West, 12 Vet. App. 247, 253 (1999)).
Acquired Psychiatric Disorder Other Than PTSD
At the outset, the Board notes that the Veteran was granted service connection for a persistent depressive disorder in September 2018.
Pursuant to the March 2018 Board remand, the Veteran was afforded a VA examination in July 2018.  The examiner indicated that the Veteran’s symptoms did not meet the diagnostic criteria posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) under the DSM-5 criteria.  He was diagnosed with persistent depressive disorder, and the examiner indicated that the Veteran did not have more than one mental disorder diagnosed.  The Board further finds that the Veteran’s symptoms have been attributed to his depressive disorder and that a confirmed diagnosis of any other acquired psychiatric disorder, other than depression, is not present.  
The Board finds the March 2018 VA examination highly probative and concludes that there is no current disability; thus, the first element of the service connection claim has not been satisfied.  Congress specifically limits entitlement for service connected disease or injury to cases where incidents have resulted in a disability. In the absence of proof of a present disability, there can be no valid claim for service connection.  Brammer v. Derwinski, 3 Vet. App. 223, 225 (1992).  Thus, in this case, without evidence of a separate and distinct current disability, direct service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, other than depression, must be denied.  

 
C. CRAWFORD
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	A. Daniels, Associate Counsel