CAVC Case 94-883: PTSD
CAVCReal U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC) decision · September 12, 1996 · FARLEY
This is a decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims — the federal court that reviews Board of Veterans' Appeals decisions, one level above the Board. Court decisions can vacate, reverse, or affirm what the Board did.
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 |
Conditions Claimed
PTSDDepressionPsychiatricBackHipSkinHeartEye
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Issues on Appeal
PTSDDepressionPsychiatricBackHipSkinHeartEye
Why It Was Decided This Way
In the June 29, 1994, BVA decision here on appeal, the Board found that the claim was well grounded but denied entitlement to service connection for PTSD.
The Board determined that the veteran had not been in combat and that he had "not been shown to have been exposed to an event during service that was outside the range of usual human experience and would be markedly distressing to almost everyone.
A well-grounded service-connection claim requires a medical diagnosis of a current disability; medical or, in certain circumstances, lay evidence of in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and medical evidence of causal nexus between the in-service injury or disease and the current disability.
VA determines that the veteran did not engage in combat with the enemy, or that the veteran did engage in combat with the enemy but the claimed stressor is not related to such combat, the veteran's lay testimony, by itself, will not be enough to establish the occurrence of the alleged stressor.
The Court also stated in Doran that "the absence of corroboration in the service records, when there is nothing in the available records that is inconsistent with other evidence, does not relieve the BVA of its obligations to assess the credibility and probative value of the other evidence.
The Board found that the veteran had not been in combat.
Reviewing this conclusion under the "clearly erroneous" standard, see Gilbert v.
49, 53 (1990), the Court concludes that the BVA's decision as to noncombatant status had a plausible basis in the record and thus is not subject to reversal as being clearly erroneous.
Authorities Cited
Regulations Cited (38 CFR / 38 USC)
Denial Type
Credibility|No Nexus
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