Citation Nr: 22009489 Decision Date: 02/17/22 Archive Date: 02/17/22 DOCKET NO. 19-09 278 DATE: February 17, 2022 ORDER Service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is granted. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran's PTSD is related to his military service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for PTSD have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1101, 1110, 1131, 5103, 5103A, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.159, 3.303, 3.304. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served honorably in the United States Army from August 1985 to March 1987. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on an appeal of a July 2016 rating decision. Service connection for PTSD is granted. The Veteran contends he is entitled to service connection for PTSD in addition to his already service-connected conversion disorder. Under VA law, service connection may be granted for any current disability that is the result of a disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active military service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303 (a). Service connection may also be granted for a disease diagnosed after discharge, where all the evidence, including that pertinent to service, establishes the disease was incurred in service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303 (d). Establishing service connection generally requires medical or, in certain circumstances, lay evidence of (1) a current disability; (2) an in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a nexus between the claimed in-service disease or injury and the present disability. See Davidson v. Shinseki, 581 F.3d 1313 (Fed. Cir. 2009). 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 in-service stressor; and credible supporting evidence that the claimed in-service stressor occurred. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.304 (f). In various statements provided throughout his appeal, including at his September 2021 Board hearing, the Veteran asserts he has PTSD related to his active service. Specifically, he maintains he developed a psychiatric condition during active service as the result of a tragic car accident that led to his fiancée's death, and even though he was not in the car accident, he had to identify his fiancée's remains. Here, all three elements to establish service connection have been satisfied. See 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.303 (a), Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d at 1166-67. First, as concerning the requisite current diagnosis, or the first Shedden element, the record reflects a diagnosis of PTSD in accordance with DSM-V, which was noted in September 2016 by a private psychiatrist. Service medical records show the Veteran was admitted in June 1986, and it was noted his fiancée had been killed in a motor vehicle accident nine months prior. The treatment report also notes she had been carrying their nine-month fetus. Furthermore, a June 1986 service medical record reflects the Veteran was diagnosed with a conversion disorder caused by severe stress. The psychosocial stressors were noted to be due to the death of his fiancée and mother. Furthermore, in a March 1992 VA compensation and pension examination a clinical psychologist and a psychiatrist note, "It is possible also that an additional diagnosis on Axis I of [PTSD] could be appropriate, and that would be based on the [V]eteran's reactions ... to the death of his [fiancé ], which seems clearly unresolved." As such the second Shedden element has been met. Finally, as to the third element, that of a nexus between the Veteran's currently diagnosed PTSD and the in-service stressor, his psychiatrist, Dr. H.J., noted in June 2017 that the Veteran's reaction to his fiancée being killed resulted in an episode of moderate PTSD, and he experiences traumatic dreams and triggering events weekly that serve to keep his fiancée's sudden and horrific death present and on his mind after 30 years. The Board finds service connection for PTSD is warranted. Notably, there is no negative opinion of record negating that the Veteran's PTSD is related to the in-service event of record. As such, the Board finds a nexus is established. Accordingly, service connection for PTSD is granted. P. M. DILORENZO Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Buck Denton 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.