Citation Nr: 21011688 Decision Date: 03/02/21 Archive Date: 03/02/21 DOCKET NO. 17-14 887 DATE: March 2, 2021 ORDER Service connection for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with major depressive disorder (MDD) is granted. FINDING OF FACT Resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor, his PTSD with MDD is a result of service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria to establish service connection for PTSD with MDD are approximated. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.304(f). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran had active service from May 1979 to June 1994. Service Connection Service connection may be granted for a current disability arising from a disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131. 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 generally requires (1) medical evidence of a current disability; (2) medical or, in certain circumstances, lay evidence of an in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) medical evidence of a nexus between the claimed in-service disease or injury and the current disability. Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1167 (Fed. Cir. 2004). According to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, "a veteran need only demonstrate that there is an 'approximate balance of positive and negative evidence' in order to prevail." Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49, 53 (1990). When there is an approximate balance of positive and negative evidence regarding any issue material to the determination of a matter, VA shall give the benefit of the doubt to the claimant. 38 U.S.C. § 5107(b). For VA to deny a claim on its merits, the preponderance of the evidence must be against the claim. See Alemany v. Brown, 9 Vet. App. 518, 519 (1996), citing Gilbert, 1 Vet. App. at 54. Service connection for PTSD with MDD is granted. Service connection for PTSD requires: (1) medical evidence diagnosing the condition in accordance with 38 C.F.R. § 4.125(a); (2) credible supporting evidence that the claimed in-service stressor occurred; and (3) medical evidence of a link between current symptomatology and the claimed in-service stressor. 38 C.F.R. § 3.304(f). See also Cohen v. Brown, 10 Vet. App. 128 (1997). Within the legal framework for evaluating claims of service connection for PTSD, the sufficiency of a stressor is a medical determination, while the occurrence of the stressor is a legal determination. Sizemore v. Principi, 18 Vet. App. 264 (2004). The Veteran was diagnosed with PTSD and MDD in a January 2016 PTSD Disability Benefits Questionnaire (DBQ). The examiner opined that the Veteran’s PTSD is at least as likely as not incurred in or caused by the claimed in-service injury, event, or illness. Thus, the first and third elements of service connection for PTSD are met. The pertinent question is whether there is credible supporting evidence that the claimed in-service stressors occurred. Military personnel records show service aboard the USS Skipjack from May 1981 to March 1984, service aboard the USS Holland from March 1984 to April 1986, service aboard the USS Narwhal from April 1986 to May 1987, and service aboard the USS Francis Scott Key from June 1987 to August 1989. The Veteran contends that multiple stressors occurred during his service, which are outlined below. An incident was reported to have occurred aboard the USS Skipjack in 1982 while the vessel was stationed at Mare Island Naval Shipyard when the Veteran fell through a deck plate causing him to be pinned underneath a support beam. A March 1982 service treatment record (STR) indicates that the Veteran was evaluated for a lower leg condition after falling through a deck plate. A September 1982 STR indicates treatment after trauma to the left leg. An incident was reported to have occurred aboard the USS Skipjack in August 1983 when the Veteran was injured while attempting to repair a main seawater pump. An August 1983 STR indicates treatment for a right-hand injury after falling at sea. An incident was reported to have occurred in June 1984 aboard the USS Holland when the Veteran fainted due to fume inhalation. A June 1984 STR indicates an evaluation after the Veteran passed out due to fume inhalation while aboard the USS Holland, confirming the Veteran’s account. An incident was reported to have occurred in January 1986 aboard the USS Holland when a shipmate was injured when a stack of steel plates fell onto him. A January 1986 STR indicates that the Veteran was evaluated for heart palpitations with periods of feeling his heartbeat rapidly. The periods of rapid/irregular heartbeat were noted to have been ongoing intermittently for two weeks and were noted as not accompanied by any other symptoms. It was noted that the attack for which he was evaluated had begun in the morning upon awakening and had not resolved by lunchtime. The Veteran reported feeling tired. The etiology of the Veteran’s condition was noted as unknown. An incident was reported to have occurred in October 1986 aboard the USS Narwhal when the Veteran was injured during a fire drill. An October 1986 STR indicates that the Veteran was evaluated after an injury that occurred during a fire drill aboard the USS Narwhal. An incident was reported to have occurred in November 1988 aboard the USS Francis Scott Key when the Veteran fell and hit his head during a fire drill. A November 1988 STR indicates that the Veteran was evaluated when the Veteran was struck on the top of his head during a drill. The Veteran’s reported in-service stressors are corroborated by the STRs, which show evaluations for the injuries that have been reported as caused by his claimed in-service stressors. Considering the above and resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor, entitlement to service connection for PTSD is warranted and, the claim is granted. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.304(f). Vito A. Clementi Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board Timothy T. Emmart The Board’s decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.