Citation Nr: 0002494 Decision Date: 02/01/00 Archive Date: 02/10/00 DOCKET NO. 97-32 440 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Togus, Maine THE ISSUE Entitlement to service connection for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). REPRESENTATION Appellant represented by: Maine Division of Veterans Services ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD R. T. Jones, Counsel INTRODUCTION The veteran served on active duty from March 1964 to February 1968. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a July 1997 rating decision by the RO that denied service connection for PTSD. FINDING OF FACT The veteran does not have a clear diagnosis of PTSD. CONCLUSION OF LAW Claimed PTSD was not incurred in or aggravated by service. 38 U.S.C.A. § 1110 (West 1991); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.303, 3.304 (1999). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION I. Background The veteran had active military service in the Navy from March 1964 to February 1968. His service personnel records indicate he served aboard the USS Ashtabula from May 1964 to July 1967 and aboard the USS Ajax from July 1967 to January 1968. (He was awarded a campaign medal for Vietnam service while serving aboard the Ashtabula.) His service medical records are negative for a psychiatric disorder, and his February 1968 separation examination shows that he had a normal psychiatric system. Outpatient treatment records from Bucksport Regional Health Center from 1989 to 1996 note medical treatment for conditions such as obesity, hypertension, and adult onset diabetes mellitus. The records note occasional problems with stress related to his employment. In April 1995 there was an assessment of questionable hypoglycemia or a reaction to medications causing moodiness, and in May 1996 it was noted that he had significant depression. In May 1996 the veteran went to a VA Vet Center with a previous client from the center. It was noted that he planned to file a claim. He described traumas that included witnessing 3 sailors killed on his ship when they passed out from fumes in an explosion and fell 70 feet to their death. He reported that the memory of these deaths continued to haunt him. He also mentioned that he worked with freezers and was involved in the transfer of body bags as freezer containers were repaired. He also said he was involved in the Maddox-Turner Joy incident in the Gulf of Tonkin. He reported various symptoms, such as distressing recollections, flashbacks, and nightmares. A Vet Center team leader noted an assessment of "rule out" PTSD, anxiety, depression, and alcohol dependence. In the veteran's October 1997 substantive appeal to the Board, he stated that he has PTSD due to an incident aboard the Ashtabula when 3 shipmates were killed. He indicated that the three shipmates were overcome by high-octane fuel while cleaning an aviation tank. With a November 1997 letter, the U. S. Armed Services Center for Research of Unit Records (USASCRUR) sent copies of histories of the USS Ashtabula. These records show, in part, that one sailor died and another was injured in October 1964 when they fell after inhaling gas fumes. On a February 1999 VA psychiatric examination, the veteran reported that 2 sailors were killed when they fell after inhaling gas fumes while he was serving aboard the Ashtabula. Following a review of military, medical, and social history, and after a mental status examination, the examiner diagnosed a panic disorder and said that he felt that the veteran did not meet the criteria for a diagnosis of PTSD. II Analysis The veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD is well grounded, meaning plausible; the evidence has been properly developed to the extent possible, and there is no further VA duty to assist the veteran with his claim. 38 U.S.C.A. § 5107(a); Gaines v. West, 11 Vet.App. 353 (1998); Murphy v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 78 (1990). Service connection may be granted for a disability resulting from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by service. 38 U.S.C.A. § 1110; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. Service connection for PTSD requires medical evidence establishing a clear diagnosis of the condition, credible supporting evidence that the claimed in-service stressor actually occurred, and a link, established by medical evidence between current symptomatology and the claimed in- service stressor. If the claimed stressor is related to combat, service department evidence that the veteran engaged in combat or that the veteran was awarded the Purple Heart, Combat Infantryman Badge, or similar combat citation will be accepted, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, as conclusive evidence of the claimed in-service stressor. 38 C.F.R. § 3.304(f) (1998). [This regulation was revised in June 1999, effective from March 1997, and the revised version provides that service connection for PTSD requires medical evidence diagnosing the condition in accordance with 38 C.F.R. § 4.125(a) [i.e., a diagnosis under DSM-IV]; a link, established by medical evidence, between current symptoms and an in-service stressor; and credible supporting evidence that the claimed in-service stressor occurred. If the evidence establishes that the veteran engaged in combat with the enemy and the claimed stressor is related to that combat, in the absence of clear and convincing evidence to the contrary, and provided the claimed stressor is consistent with the circumstances, conditions, or hardships of the veteran's service, the veteran's lay testimony alone may establish the occurrence of the claimed in-service stressor. 38 C.F.R. § 3.304(f) (1999).] Service medical records from the veteran's 1964-1968 active duty show no psychiatric disorder. After service, beginning in 1989 and continuing to the present, the veteran received outpatient treatment for physical ailments and there were occasional references to stress related to the veteran's employment. Depression was noted in 1996. Prior to 1996, no reference was made to military service or PTSD. The first evidence of record, that the veteran might have PTSD, is from a Vet Center where there was a assessment of "rule out" PTSD as well as other psychiatric disorders. This assessment was made by a "team leader," and it is unclear whether such person has medical credentials. In any event, there was no clear diagnosis of PTSD at that time. A clear diagnosis of PTSD means one that is unequivocal. Cohen v. Brown, 10 Vet. App. 128 (1997). On the other hand, the 1999 VA psychiatric examination, conducted for the purpose of determining whether the veteran has PTSD, found no PTSD. The conclusion of no PTSD on this examination is supported by clinical findings and a review of all the evidence; it is considered far more probative than the isolated notation of "rule out" PTSD. The veteran's own assertion that he has PTSD is not cognizable evidence since, as a layman, he has no competence to give a medical opinion on the diagnosis or etiology of a condition. Espiritu v. Derwinski, 2 Vet. App. 492 (1992). The Board finds that the weight of the evidence demonstrates that the veteran has no satisfactory diagnosis of PTSD, which is one mandatory requirement for service connection. 38 C.F.R. § 3.304(f). The Board concludes that the preponderance of the evidence is against the claim for service connection for PTSD. Thus, the benefit-of-the-doubt rule does not apply, and this claim must be denied. 38 U.S.C.A. § 5107(b); Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49 (1990). ORDER Service connection for PTSD is denied. L. W. TOBIN Member, Board of Veterans' Appeals