Anxiety decisions — 2008

The Board has remanded the case for a new VA examination and additional attempts to obtain pre-service treatment records. The claim will be readjudicated after these actions.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for an evaluation in excess of 30 percent for anxiety disorder and denied his application to reopen a previously denied claim of entitlement to service connection for a neck condition. The appeal is not about service connection at all, as it pertains to increased disability ratings.

The Board found no evidence that the veteran's death was caused by VA treatment or negligence, and thus denied DIC benefits under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for the cause of his death and also denied his eligibility for Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) due to lack of a permanent total service-connected disability at the time of his death.

The veteran's anxiety disorder, NOS is found to have been incurred in service. Service connection for hypertension is granted as secondary to PTSD.

The VA denied the veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 30 percent for his service-connected anxiety disorder, finding that his symptoms do not warrant a higher rating.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 70 percent for PTSD with depressive reaction associated with anxiety, prior to September 16, 2005.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, bilateral tinnitus, and Meniere's syndrome. The veteran was not granted service connection for an anxiety disorder as secondary to the service-connected shell fragment wound to the right arm and wrist.,Service connection was denied because there is no medical evidence of a causal link between the claimed conditions and active duty service.

The veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected anxiety disorder and back disorder are being remanded due to the need for additional medical examination and VCAA notice.

The Board found no evidence of a current diagnosis of PTSD and insufficient supporting evidence for the veteran's claimed in-service stressors. The preponderance of the evidence did not support service connection for any psychiatric disorders.

The Board has granted a disability rating of 30 percent for the veteran's anxiety disorder, effective from the date of the decision. The claim for service connection for PTSD is reopened based on new and material evidence.

The Board has determined that further development is needed to determine the relationship between the veteran's claimed groin rash and generalized anxiety disorder with his military service.

The Board has determined that the veteran's paranoid schizophrenia is related to his active military service and grants service connection for this condition. The issues of an initial compensable rating for adjustment disorder with anxiety and a total rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disability are remanded.

The Board granted effective dates earlier than January 29, 2004 for both the TDIU rating and DEA benefits. The veteran's service-connected disabilities were found to have rendered him unemployable prior to that date.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for service connection of major depressive disorder with generalized anxiety disorder, finding no legal basis for a prior effective date.

The Board has reopened the veteran's claim for service connection for psychiatric disorder, claimed as adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depression. The case is remanded to obtain additional medical records and for further development.

The Board denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, anxiety, and depression. The claimant's acne vulgaris of the face was also denied a higher rating.

The veteran's additional physical disability, including right C5-6 cervical radiculopathy and psychiatric disorder, is not deemed to be the result of carelessness, negligence, lack of proper skill, error in judgment or similar instance of fault by VA. The Board finds that there was no event not reasonably foreseeable.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for a rating in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected anxiety disorder and denied his claim for service connection for hypertension and coronary artery disease, including as secondary to exposure to agents during the SHAD Project. The veteran was not provided with any specific evidence or criteria regarding higher ratings.

The Board found that the veteran's pre-existing anxiety neurosis did not worsen during service and denied his claim for service connection. The Board also determined that he does not have any service-connected disabilities to support a TDIU claim.