Anxiety decisions — 2008

The Board remands the claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder to enable VA to provide the veteran with appropriate notice regarding claims based on new and material evidence.

The veteran's claim for service connection for a psychiatric disability and TDIU is being remanded to ensure that all necessary development, including obtaining mental health treatment records from Balboa Naval Hospital and scheduling the veteran for a VA examination, has been completed.

The Board denied service connection for hypertension and a gastrointestinal disorder as there was no evidence of in-service incurrence or aggravation, and the conditions were not shown to be related to military service.

The veteran's claim to reopen a previously denied psychiatric claim has been remanded for proper notification of the specific information and evidence necessary to substantiate the element or elements required to establish service connection for anxiety disorder that were found insufficient in the previous denial.

The veteran's service-connected generalized anxiety disorder does not warrant a rating in excess of 50 percent, and he is found incompetent for purposes of disbursement of VA benefits.

The veteran's claims for service connection for left knee, left shoulder, right knee, and back disorders were denied. However, the claims for a right shoulder disorder, headaches, adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood, and bilateral hearing loss were granted.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for sinusitis and anxiety disorder, both claimed as secondary to his service-connected ear disabilities.

The Board found that the veteran's sinus disability pre-existed service and was not aggravated by it. The claims for a psychiatric disorder, colitis, and stomach problems were denied due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to service or any service-connected condition.

The appeal is remanded to obtain additional evidence, including SSA records and a verification of the claimed stressor.

The veteran's claim for service connection for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), also claimed as depressive disorder and anxiety, was remanded for further development.

The veteran's anxiety disorder is manifested by impairment of memory, daily nightmares, disturbances of mood, near-constant anxiety, tangential speech, and a difficulty in maintaining effective work and social relationships. The Board finds that the criteria for a 50 percent rating are met.

The Board denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD, as the evidence did not establish a link between the veteran's current conditions and his period of active service.

The Board denied service connection for a personality disorder and an acquired psychiatric disorder as there is no evidence of a disease or injury in service, and the current disorders are not related to service.

The Board remanded the case to the RO for further development and readjudication of the veteran's claim.

The appeal for an earlier effective date prior to September 3, 2004 for the grant of service connection for adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood was denied as a matter of law.

The veteran was not capable of engaging in substantially gainful employment prior to May 7, 2004, and her psychiatric disability did not result in total occupational and social impairment.

The veteran's service-connected anxiety disorder is rated at 30 percent, and the claims for service connection for fatigue/sleep disturbance, headaches, a skin condition, arthritis of both shoulders, and allergies/respiratory problems were denied.

The veteran's anxiety disorder did not meet the criteria for a compensable evaluation before October 23, 2006, but was rated at 50 percent on or after that date.

The Board denied the claim for retroactive compensation benefits based on a 10 percent evaluation for psychoneurosis, anxiety state with tachycardia from March 1, 1948 to January 1, 1998 due to clear and unmistakable error in a March 24, 1948 RO letter that suspended compensation benefit payments.

The veteran's anxiety is not productive of reduced reliability and productivity due to such symptoms as flattened affect; circumstantial, circumlocutory, or stereotyped speech; panic attacks more than once a week; difficulty in understanding complex commands; impairment of short- or long-term memory (e.g., retention of only highly learned material, forgetting to complete tasks); impaired judgment; impaired abstract thinking; disturbances of motivation and mood; or difficulty in establishing and maintaining effective work and social relationships.