Our client, a U.S. Army veteran, recently won a significant appeal before the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. The Court vacated a Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision that denied his claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and major depressive disorder. The veteran attributed his condition to a traumatic incident in Germany during his service.
The Court found that the Board improperly relied on a flawed March 2023 VA medical opinion. This examiner failed to provide an adequate rationale for denying a psychiatric diagnosis and did not address prior diagnoses made by private clinicians in 2020 and 2023. The Board also gave undue weight to the VA examiner’s opinion without fully explaining why it discounted the private opinions, which linked the veteran’s condition to service-related trauma.
As a result of this legal victory, the veteran’s claim has been remanded, and the Board must reexamine the evidence, including favorable private medical opinions. Our firm continues to fight for veterans to receive the compensation they deserve for service-connected conditions.
If you need assistance with a VA disability claim, contact us today for a free consultation.