Anxiety decisions — 2000

The Board has remanded the veteran's claims for increased evaluation and TDIU due to his anxiety disorder. The case is being returned to the RO for further development, including a VA psychiatric examination.

The veteran's anxiety neurosis is currently rated at 30 percent, which is the maximum rating available under VA guidelines. The residuals of a nondiffuse stress fracture of the left anterior tibial tuberosity are rated as noncompensable (0 percent), and the urethral papillomas have not been assigned any compensable evaluation.

The Board has determined that the veteran's service-connected psychiatric disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety reaction with neurasthenic features, warrant a 50% evaluation due to significant impairment in social and occupational functioning.

The Board found that the veteran's claim for service connection for anxiety disorder is not well grounded and denied it.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claim of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD, is well-grounded. The case was remanded to obtain medical records from the Social Security Administration (SSA) and to seek medical opinions regarding the etiology of any identified acquired psychiatric disorders.

The Board denied the claim of service connection for the cause of the veteran's death, concluding that his service-connected anxiety disorder did not contribute substantially or materially to his death.

The Board has granted service connection for dermatophytosis of the feet and denied service connection for left ear hearing loss, anxiety disorder with panic disorder and agoraphobia, and dermatophytosis of the hands. The case is remanded to obtain a psychiatric examination.

The Board has determined that the veteran's preexisting psychiatric disorders, including anxiety disorder, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder, were aggravated by his active military service.

The Board has granted service connection for the veteran's anxiety/panic disorder, finding that it is related to her Gulf War service.

The veteran's anxiety disorder is rated at the maximum schedular rating of 100 percent, reflecting total social and industrial inadaptability.

The VA determined that the appellant's generalized anxiety disorder with psychophysiological gastrointestinal reaction warranted a rating of 50 percent, which is the current evaluation. The Board found no evidence to support an increase in this rating.

The Board has granted service connection for generalized anxiety disorder but denied service connection for post traumatic stress disorder.

The veteran's claims for service connection for vascular dementia as secondary to his GAD, an increased evaluation for his GAD, and a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to his service-connected disabilities were all denied by the Board of Veterans' Appeals.

The veteran's anxiety disorder is rated at 30 percent, but the Board finds it does not warrant a higher rating.,The veteran's residuals of gunshot wounds to the left wrist and fingers are rated as one disability (residuals of gunshot wound to the left wrist) with a single 50 percent rating effective October 8, 1992.

The Board has granted a disability evaluation of 30 percent for the appellant's service-connected generalized anxiety disorder, effective from the date of the decision. The claim for a compensable rating for histoplasmosis is addressed in the Remand section.

The Board denied an increased rating for generalized anxiety disorder, finding that the evidence did not support a higher disability evaluation.

The veteran's claim for service connection for limitation of motion of the cervical spine is not well grounded. His claim for a rating in excess of 20 percent for sacroiliac strain is denied as there are no manifestations that warrant such a higher rating. The veteran's need for SMC based on the need for regular aid and attendance of another person is also denied.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD and anxiety reaction are not well-grounded. The evidence does not support a current diagnosis of PTSD, nor is there competent medical evidence linking the veteran's current anxiety disorder to his military service.

The Board found that the RO improperly reduced the disability evaluation for the veteran's asthmatic bronchitis from 30 to 10 percent effective as of August 1, 1981. The reduction was upheld for the anxiety disorder with depressive features. However, the termination of a total rating for compensation purposes based on individual unemployability was found proper.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claims of service connection for arthritis, residuals of a head injury (organic brain syndrome), anxiety and dysthymia, and tinnitus are not well grounded. The evidence does not support these claims.