Court Remand to the Board
In this January 9, 2012 decision by the Board of Veterans' Appels, the Veteran, retried from the military with over 20 years of service, was awarded enttilement to service-connection for PTSD. This award followed our representation by the veteran in the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. A denial of service-connection for PTSD was appealed to Court by the veteran, and he retained Sean Kendall to represent him in Court. In February 2011, the Court vacated the Board decision and remanded. Before the Board, new evidence was presented and argued to the VA.
New Evidence of Service in Vietnam
The evidence received since the May 1996 rating decision that denied service connection for PTSD was held to be new in that it is not cumulative and was not previously considered by decision makers. The evidence was also material because it raises a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim for service connection. The new evidence, being sufficient to repen the claim, the Board then granted service-connection for PTSD. The VA had previously held that the veteran was unable to prove that he had served in the Republic of Vietnam. Newly discovered military records and witness statements proved the VA wrong, and service-connection for PTSD was granted. On remand from the Board, entitlement to a unemployability was granted, based on a combination of the service-connected PTSD and service-connected physical disabilities.
