Anxiety decisions — 2007

The veteran is found to be permanently and totally disabled due to his nonservice-connected disabilities, including anxiety disorder, lumbar spine issues, radiculopathy, and a right eye disorder. The decision grants the veteran a permanent and total disability rating for pension purposes.

The Board granted service connection for an anxiety disorder with depression, finding that the veteran's symptoms are linked to his witnessing of a fatal plane crash during active duty. The claim for PTSD was denied as there is no current diagnosis and insufficient evidence linking it to service.

The Board has granted a 70 percent evaluation for PTSD effective from March 23, 2006. The veteran's TDIU claim is also granted.

The Board has determined that the veteran's anxiety disorder, secondary to intracranial infection and viral encephalitis, warrants a 30 percent disability rating.

The Board has determined that the veteran does not have PTSD or any other psychiatric disorder related to service, and a verified in-service stressor has not been shown. Therefore, the claim for service connection for PTSD is denied.

The veteran's claim for loss of sense of taste and a multi-faceted psychiatric disorder, inclusive of PTSD, was granted with appropriate disability ratings. His lower lip condition received a compensable rating.

The Board has determined that a remand is necessary to obtain an opinion regarding the relationship between the veteran's current psychiatric disability and his service-connected hepatitis C.

The Board denied all claims for service connection, finding that there was no credible evidence of in-service stressors related to post-traumatic stress disorder and rejecting the diagnoses of sleep apnea as not supported by medical records. The other conditions were also not found to be related to service or a service-connected disability.

The veteran's service-connected chronic anxiety reaction with psychophysiological gastrointestinal reaction is not productive of the required occupational and social impairment to warrant a higher rating.

The Board found that the veteran's psychiatric disorders are not related to in-service physical assaults, and thus denied his claim for service connection.

The veteran's service-connected disabilities result in him being substantially confined to his dwelling or immediate premises and he requires the care or assistance of another person on a regular basis to protect himself from the hazards or dangers incident to his daily environment. The Board has determined that there is at least a reasonable doubt as to whether the veteran's service connected disabilities render him so disabled as to require the aid and attendance of another person, thus granting special monthly compensation based on the need for aid and attendance.

The veteran's claims for service connection for an anxiety disorder and a bilateral leg condition are being remanded to the RO for further development of his medical records.

The Board denied the appellant's claims for special monthly pension based on need for regular aid and attendance or at the housebound rate, finding that she does not meet the criteria for either benefit.

The VA denied the veteran's claims for an increased rating for his generalized anxiety disorder and a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities. The VA found that the combined rating of his service-connected conditions (Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Right Wrist Shrapnel Injury, and Bilateral Sensorineural Hearing Loss) did not meet the minimum schedular criteria for a T/R.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection of an acquired psychiatric disorder as secondary to his service-connected diabetes mellitus, type II. The Board found that there was no evidence showing a direct link between the veteran's service-connected diabetes and his diagnosed psychiatric disorders.

The VA denied an increased rating for the veteran's conversion disorder, currently diagnosed as an anxiety disorder. The Board found that the mental condition is the predominant aspect of his service-connected disability and did not meet the criteria for a higher evaluation.

The Board found that the veteran's right knee fracture residuals do not warrant an evaluation in excess of 10 percent. The left knee disorder and acquired psychiatric disorder are not service-connected.

The VA has determined that the veteran's generalized anxiety disorder with PTSD does not meet the criteria for a rating higher than 30 percent, and his residuals of gunshot wound to the right thigh do not meet the criteria for a rating higher than 10 percent.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD and his application for a permanent and total disability rating for nonservice-connected pension benefits. The evidence did not meet the criteria for reopening the previously denied PTSD claim, and the veteran was found to be unemployable due to his disabilities.

The Board has determined that the veteran does not have residuals of rubella, a bilateral foot disorder manifested by bilateral pes planus and hallux valgus, or a right knee disorder. The anxiety disorder is also denied as there is no link to service.