Anxiety decisions — 2009

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including scheduling a VA examination and providing Vazquez-Flores compliant notice.

The Veteran's psychiatric disability, including generalized anxiety disorder and adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood, is considered service-connected. The Veteran also has a compensable rating for his left middle finger fracture.

The Board found no evidence of a psychiatric disability during service or within one year after discharge, and concluded that the Veteran's current psychiatric conditions are not related to his military service.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development due to a recent court decision that requires consideration of alternative psychiatric disorders within the scope of an initial claim.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities alone are not sufficient to preclude him from obtaining or maintaining substantially gainful employment consistent with his education and industrial background.

The Board has granted service connection for PTSD and denied the claim for an initial compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss. The issue of service connection for hepatitis C is pending.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including a VA examination to assess the impact of his service-connected disabilities on his employability.

The Board finds that the Veteran's current anxiety is secondary to his service-connected recurrent varicose veins of the right and left lower extremities.

The Veteran's anxiety disorder with alcohol abuse is currently rated as 10 percent disabling, and the Board has determined that a higher rating of 30 percent is warranted based on his symptoms.

The Veteran's claim for an increased disability rating for anxiety reaction, secondary to intracranial infection and viral encephalitis was granted by the Board of Veterans' Appeals.

The veteran's service connection for postoperative left shoulder bursitis and tendinopathy was granted, with a 10 percent evaluation initially assigned in October 2007. The evaluation was increased to 20 percent effective February 22, 2007.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD, Anxiety disorder, and Depressive disorder not otherwise specified was denied as there is no competent medical evidence indicating the presence of these conditions. The September 2005 VA compensation examiner did not diagnose PTSD in accordance with DSM-IV criteria.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's depressive and anxiety disorders are related to his service, granting his claim for service connection.

The Veteran's generalized anxiety disorder is currently rated at 50 percent, effective March 14, 2006. The Board found that the current rating adequately reflects the severity of his condition.

The Veteran's generalized anxiety disorder is manifested by a depressed mood, anxiety, irritability, social withdrawal, panic attacks, employment difficulties, and sleep impairment. The Board has granted a 50 percent disability rating for the condition.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a diagnosed disability of PTSD and therefore, service connection for PTSD is denied. Service connection for Generalized Anxiety Disorder was also denied.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for generalized anxiety disorder is being remanded due to the need to obtain additional medical records and address procedural issues.

The Board has remanded the case to the RO for additional development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling a VA psychiatric examination.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, due to a lack of evidence supporting a link between his current conditions and his military service.

The VA has granted an initial rating of 30 percent for the appellant's service-connected adjustment disorder with anxiety and depression, which is currently considered to be manifested by occupational and social impairment due to mild symptoms.