BVA Case 92-144: Ptsd

MANKIN , Judge : Joe Elkins appeals the October 16, 1991, Board of Veterans' Appeals (BVA or Board) decision which determined that new and material evidence had not been submitted to reopen his claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder.

In February 1968, the Board denied service connection for a psychiatric condition, stating that schizophrenia was not diagnosed until two years after service.

The Board noted that appellant was treated for globus hystericus in May 1956.

On October 16, 1991, the Board found that new and material evidence had not been presented to reopen appellant's claim for service connection.

5108 (West 1991), a previously disallowed claim may be reopened only when new and material evidence is presented.

Whether evidence submitted to reopen a previously and finally disallowed claim is new and material is a question of law which the Court reviews de novo.

The Board determined that these letters were new, but not material.

Appellant's factual contentions have been considered previously by the RO and BVA, and they cannot be accepted as new and material evidence simply because they now form the basis of a medical opinion.