Citation Nr: 21024604 Decision Date: 04/23/21 Archive Date: 04/23/21 DOCKET NO. 16-59 360 DATE: April 23, 2021 ORDER Service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability to include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with major depressive disorder is granted. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran’s PTSD and major depressive disorder are related to service.. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, to include PTSD and major depressive disorder, have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1154, 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.303, 3.304. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Army from June 1969 to May 1971 with service in the Republic of Vietnam. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a July 2015 rating decision from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Veteran presented sworn testimony at a hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge in January 2021. As there are other psychiatric diagnoses of record, including major depressive disorder, the Board finds it more appropriate to characterize the claim broadly as one of entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD. See Clemons v. Shinseki, 23 Vet. App. 1 (2009). 1. Service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability to include PTSD. The Veteran asserts the he is entitled to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability due to service or alternatively to his service-connected disabilities. See Hearing Testimony, January 2021. Generally, to establish service connection for a claimed disorder, the following criteria must be met: (1) medical evidence of a current disability; (2) evidence of an in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) evidence of a nexus between the claimed in-service disease or injury and current disability. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303; see also, Davidson v. Shinseki, 581 F.3d 1313, 1316 (Fed. Cir. 2009); Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1166-67 (Fed. Cir. 2004); Hickson v. West, 12 Vet. App. 247, 253 (1999). Service connection may be granted for a disability resulting in a disease or injury that is incurred in or aggravated by active duty military service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. Service connection may be established by credible lay evidence and medical evidence provided by the Veteran or otherwise. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. Service connection for PTSD requires medical evidence establishing a diagnosis of the condition, credible supporting evidence that the claimed in-service stressor occurred, and a link, established by medical evidence, between current symptomatology and the claimed in-service stressor. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.304(f). As the Board finds direct service connection is warranted, secondary service connection will not be addressed. Here, the Veteran has a diagnosis of PTSD and major depressive disorder. See PTSD Disability Benefits Questionnaire, April 2015 and September 2015. During the January 2021 hearing, the Veteran testified that his depression and anxiety started in service and his in-service stressors include combat-related activity in Cambodia and combat-related conditions in Vietnam. As a finder of fact, the Board finds that the Veteran’s reported stressors are corroborated by the evidence of record. He reported that immediately after he left service in 1971, he noticed his psychological issues but did not talk about it with anyone because he thought people with “PTSD were wimps.” The Veteran stated that he now sees a private psychologist and continues to take medication for depression. In April 2015, a psychiatrist diagnosed the Veteran with PTSD and major depressive disorder. Further, during a September 2015 disability benefits questionnaire, the Veteran reported numerous specific traumatic experiences while serving as a forward observer with an infantry unit in Vietnam. After a review of the Veteran’s record, a licensed clinical psychologist diagnosed the Veteran with PTSD and major depressive disorder with symptoms of recollections and dreams about combat events, psychological distress related to those events, avoidance of thoughts and feelings associated with the trauma, irritability, hypervigilance, and exaggerated startled response attributable to his PTSD. The psychologist opined that the Veteran meets virtually every criterion for a diagnosis of PTSD, which is directly attributable to his experiences in Vietnam. In March 2021, the same licensed clinical psychologist submitted a statement, which noted the Veteran’s reported experiences while serving in Vietnam as a forward observer. The psychologist stated that since returning from Vietnam, the Veteran has had intermittent, but consistent symptoms of PTSD, including depression, anxiety, irritability, troubled sleep, nightmares, and hypervigilance. The psychologist also noted that the Veteran has benefitted from mental health intervention over the years, but already had symptoms of PTSD for several decades prior to seeking intervention. The Board acknowledges the July 2015 VA examination stating that the Veteran does not have a diagnosis of PTSD. However, given the other medical evidence of record and the Veteran’s competent and credible testimony regarding the occurrence of his in-service stressors, the Board finds that all three elements necessary to establish service connection for PTSD for major depressive disorder have been met. See 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.303, 3.304(f). Accordingly, service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, to include PTSD and major depressive disorder, is warranted. STEVEN D. REISS Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board Sara Leigh, Attorney Advisor 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.