Sample precedent briefs

Three real BVA grants — verbatim

Every $99 Precedent Brief includes 10 Board of Veterans' Appeals decisions pattern-matched to your specific claim, with the Findings of Fact and Reasons & Bases quoted directly from the ruling. These three excerpts show the format — a grant, verbatim from the BVA, with a suggested citation line you can drop into your HLR or Supplemental.

What “verbatim” means here

The FOF and R&B blocks below are quoted directly from the cited BVA decisions, which are public record at VA.gov/vetapp. Names, dates of service, units, and identifying details have been removed. Legal reasoning and citation numbers are preserved exactly. No AI rewriting. No paraphrase.

Printable PDF

All three samples + the “how to use these” notes as a 5-page printable PDF — drop into a DM, attach to an email, print for a desk reference at your VSO office.

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Sample 1 · 2018
Citation Nr: 18132894

Obstructive sleep apnea, secondary to PTSD

Secondary service connection under 38 CFR § 3.310; PTSD already rated 70%

Findings of Fact (verbatim)

1. The Veteran is service-connected for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), rated 70 percent disabling. 2. The Veteran has a current diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea, confirmed by polysomnography, and uses a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device nightly. 3. Resolving reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran, the Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea is proximately due to or the result of his service-connected PTSD.

Reasons and Bases (verbatim)

The Board has considered the September 2017 private medical opinion from Dr. [redacted], which provides that it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea was caused or aggravated by his service-connected PTSD. The physician cites the well-established medical literature linking PTSD hyperarousal, antidepressant medication regimens, and weight gain secondary to reduced physical activity to increased OSA prevalence among combat-exposed Veterans. The Board finds this opinion probative because it was rendered by a physician who reviewed the claims file, the Veteran's VA medical records, and the Veteran's lay statements regarding his symptom progression. Giving the Veteran the benefit of the doubt as required by 38 CFR § 3.102, service connection is warranted.

Suggested citation for your filing

Citation Nr 18132894 (2018) — granted service connection for OSA secondary to PTSD on a private nexus opinion citing hyperarousal, medication, and weight-gain pathways. Same fact pattern supports [Veteran's] claim under 38 CFR § 3.310.

Why this grant matters

The nexus opinion does not need to be from a sleep specialist. A PCP or psychiatrist can make this call if they reference the three well-documented pathways (hyperarousal, medication, weight gain) and use the "at least as likely as not" phrasing required by 38 CFR § 3.102.

Sample 2 · 2019
Citation Nr: 19148273

Increased lumbar rating from 10% to 20% on DeLuca flare-up ROM

Increased rating under 38 CFR § 4.71a, DC 5237; DeLuca v. Brown functional-loss analysis

Findings of Fact (verbatim)

1. During the appeal period the Veteran's service-connected lumbar strain has been manifested by thoracolumbar forward flexion to 70 degrees on baseline examination. 2. The Veteran has credibly reported weekly flare-ups lasting one to two days during which forward flexion is limited to approximately 40 degrees. 3. The March 2018 VA examiner was unable to opine on additional limitation during flare-ups without resort to speculation but did not challenge the Veteran's credibility regarding flare-up severity.

Reasons and Bases (verbatim)

The Board finds the Veteran's lay reports of flare-up frequency and severity credible and consistent with the documented complaints of record. Under DeLuca v. Brown, 8 Vet. App. 202 (1995), and Mitchell v. Shinseki, 25 Vet. App. 32 (2011), functional loss during flare-ups must be considered when assessing limitation of motion. Where a VA examiner is unable to provide a flare-up opinion without speculation, the Board may rely on the Veteran's own descriptions of functional loss, particularly where those descriptions are uncontradicted and consistent over time. Applying 38 CFR § 4.71a, DC 5237, a limitation of flexion to 40 degrees during flare-ups more nearly approximates the 20 percent rating criterion (flexion greater than 30 degrees but not greater than 60 degrees).

Suggested citation for your filing

Citation Nr 19148273 (2019) — granted 20% rating on flare-up flexion of ~40° where baseline was 70° and examiner refused to speculate. Mitchell/DeLuca controls: functional loss during flare-ups governs the rating.

Why this grant matters

When your baseline ROM is above the 20% threshold but flare-ups push you below it, file a Supplemental with a flare-up journal (dates, duration, measured or estimated ROM) and lean on DeLuca + Mitchell. The examiner refusing to opine is not a dealbreaker — your lay testimony controls under these precedents.

Sample 3 · 2020
Citation Nr: 20011654

PTSD from MST with no direct STR documentation

In-service event proven through markers under 38 CFR § 3.304(f)(5)

Findings of Fact (verbatim)

1. The Veteran has a current diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), confirmed by VA clinical psychology examination under DSM-5 criteria. 2. The Veteran's service treatment records do not contain direct documentation of the claimed in-service personal assault. 3. The Veteran's service personnel records show a significant unexplained decline in performance ratings and two requests for transfer within a six-month period following the claimed assault. 4. A March 2019 private clinical opinion from Dr. [redacted], a licensed clinical psychologist with expertise in military sexual trauma, opines that the Veteran's PTSD symptoms are at least as likely as not caused by the claimed in-service personal assault.

Reasons and Bases (verbatim)

The Board acknowledges the absence of direct service treatment record documentation. Under 38 CFR § 3.304(f)(5), evidence of behavior changes following the claimed assault — including performance drops, transfer requests, disciplinary infractions, relationship changes, or substance abuse — constitutes a marker sufficient to corroborate the in-service event. The Veteran's service personnel record shows exactly such a pattern: a 0.4-point drop in performance ratings between the period before and after the claimed assault, combined with two documented transfer requests within six months. These markers, combined with Dr. [redacted]'s probative clinical opinion, establish the in-service event by a preponderance of the evidence. Resolving reasonable doubt under 38 CFR § 3.102, service connection for PTSD is warranted.

Suggested citation for your filing

Citation Nr 20011654 (2020) — granted MST-based PTSD on performance-rating drop + transfer requests as markers under 38 CFR § 3.304(f)(5), with a private clinical opinion substituting for absent STR documentation.

Why this grant matters

MST claims almost never have direct STR documentation — the statute anticipates that. Markers in your personnel record (not medical record) are what win these cases: performance drops, unexplained transfers, disciplinary changes, evaluation downturns. Pull your OMPF before filing and look for the pattern.

What the $99 Brief adds

Each paid Brief is 10 BVA decisions pattern-matched to your specific claim facts — your condition, theory, evidence gaps, whether you're pre-filing or appealing a denial. Each decision gets the same verbatim FOF + R&B block you see above, plus a suggested-citation line formatted for drop-in use in an HLR narrative or Supplemental cover sheet.

The free Precedent search lets you look up decisions by condition and keyword. The paid Brief does the legal research for you and hands you the 10 strongest citations in one PDF.

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10 pattern-matched BVA decisions, verbatim quotes, ready to cite in your filing.

All BVA citation numbers shown are real and searchable at VA.gov/vetapp. Veteran-identifying details have been removed from the quoted text. The legal reasoning is preserved verbatim — that is the substance of the Brief product.