BVA Case 17-3989: PTSD
BVAReal Board of Veterans' Appeals decision · · NEWMAN
Conditions Claimed
PTSDDepressionPsychiatricBackHipEye
Official 2026 VA monthly compensation, including the 2.8% COLA increase.
Dependent add-ons start at a 30% rating. Child-only and dependent-parent rates: see the full 2026 pay chart.
2026 base rates, all ratings (veteran alone)
| Rating | Monthly (2026, incl. 2.8% COLA) |
|---|---|
| 10% | $180.42 |
| 20% | $356.66 |
| 30% | $552.47 |
| 40% | $795.84 |
| 50% | $1,132.90 |
| 60% | $1,435.02 |
| 70% | $1,808.45 |
| 80% | $2,102.15 |
| 90% | $2,362.30 |
| 100% | $3,938.58 |
Referral disclosure: VetAid earns a referral fee if you become a paying REE Medical client through this link — it helps keep this site free. REE Medical provides paid medical evidence; it is not a law firm, VSO, or claims agent, and VetAid has not independently verified its services. VSOs and VA-accredited representatives will help you file your claim at no cost, and no one can guarantee a rating increase.
Issues on Appeal
PTSDDepressionPsychiatricBackHipEye
Why It Was Decided This Way
The Board found that “[t]he evidence in this case [was] certainly not compelling.
“Nevertheless,” the Board found, referring to the May 2005 VA examina- tion: [S]ervice records [did] clearly show psychiatric symptoms and a VA medical examiner, with bene- fit of examination of the Veteran and review of the record, ha[d] offered an opinion that it [was] at least as likely as not that the Veteran’s bipolar dis- order with depression [was] causally related to ser- vice.
The Board noted that, “[s]ignificantly, the May 2005 examiner acknowledged the Veteran’s report of the fire and a death of an individual during service, but the examiner diagnosed bipolar disorder, not PTSD.
2 On October 10, 2017, on remand from the Veterans Court, the Board found that § 3.
156(a) if the claimant submits new and material evidence in support of the claim.
In the 2017 decision, the Board found that “the subse- quent service connection grant by the Board in February 2010 was not based on the January 2008 [Department of Defense] report and associated declassified command his- tories obtained after the final September 1999 rating deci- sion.
The Board found that the Board’s 2010 “decision clearly identifie[d] the previously available ser- vice treatment records documenting depression treatment and the May 2005 VA medical opinion as the bases for the award of service connection.
156(c) provided: Where the new and material evidence consists of a supplemental report from the service department, received before or after the decision has become fi- nal, the former decision will be reconsidered by the adjudicating agency of original jurisdiction.
Authorities Cited
Regulations Cited (38 CFR / 38 USC)
Denial Type
Not New Material
Find Similar Precedent for Your Claim
VetAid's analyzer maps your claim against thousands of real Board of Veterans' Appeals decisions like this one — surfacing the exact case law that supports your arguments.
Run my claim through VetAid →