Citation Nr: 21026651 Decision Date: 05/03/21 Archive Date: 05/03/21 DOCKET NO. 18-22 761 DATE: May 3, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is granted. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran's diagnosed PTSD is related to in-service stressors. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria to establish service connection for PTSD have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5103, 5103A, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.159, 3.303. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from October 2008 to December 2012 including combat and overseas service in Afghanistan. See DD Form 214. The Veteran appeals a July 2017 rating decision by the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ). A Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) hearing was held in May 2020. A transcript is of record. The Veteran waived AOJ consideration of evidence added since the March 2018 statement of the case (SOC). See May 2020 Board Hearing Tr. at 2. A veteran is entitled to the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) disability compensation if there is a disability resulting from personal injury suffered or disease contracted in the line of duty in active service, or for aggravation of a preexisting injury suffered or disease contracted in the line of duty in active service. 38 U.S.C. § 1110. Generally, to establish a right to compensation for a present disability, a veteran must show: (1) a present disability; (2) an in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a causal relationship between the present disability and the disease or injury incurred or aggravated during service, the so-called "nexus" requirement. Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1167 (Fed. Cir. 2004). Service connection may be granted for any disease diagnosed after discharge, when all of the evidence, including that pertinent to service, establishes that a disease was incurred in service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(d). In the case of any Veteran who engaged in combat with the enemy in active service during a period of war, the Secretary shall accept as sufficient proof of service connection of any disease or injury alleged to have been incurred in or aggravated by such service satisfactory lay or other evidence of service incurrence or aggravation of such injury or disease, if consistent with the circumstances, conditions, or hardships of such service, notwithstanding the fact that there is no official record of such incurrence or aggravation in such service, and, to that end, shall resolve every reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran. Service connection of such injury or disease may be rebutted by clear and convincing evidence to the contrary. 38 U.S.C. § 1154(b). Service connection for PTSD requires medical evidence establishing a diagnosis of the condition, credible supporting evidence that the claimed in-service stressor actually occurred, and a link, established by medical evidence, between the current symptoms and the claimed in-service stressor. 38 C.F.R. § 3.304(f). 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 is diagnosed with PTSD by a psychologist. See January, April 2019 VA treatment records. June 2018 VA treatment records indicate the Veteran's PTSD is related to his tour of duty in Afghanistan. March 2019 VA treatment records noted the stressors of being shot at while in Afghanistan and a VA psychologist concluded the Veteran's PTSD is military related. The Veteran received a combat infantryman badge. See DD Form 214. Because the Veteran has PTSD which has been medically related to in-service stressors, service connection for PTSD is granted. DONNIE R. HACHEY Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board A. Zheng, Associate Counsel 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.