Anxiety decisions — 2010

The Board has granted service connection for a psychiatric disability, including PTSD, major depression, dysthymia, neurosis with hypochondriasis and depressive features, anxiety, and a mood disorder. The diagnosis of PTSD is based on reported in-service stressors related to fear of hostile military activity.

The Board found that the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorders, including PTSD, were not incurred in or aggravated by active military service. The non-PTSD conditions are related to his history of alcohol and substance abuse post-service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's reported symptoms of short term memory loss, noise sensitivity, anxiety, depression, sudden anger, and mood swings are not related to his in-service head injury or concussion.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining treatment records and scheduling VA examinations.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's diagnosed acquired psychiatric disorders, including PTSD, depressive disorder, and anxiety disorder, are service-connected as they are related to his active duty service in Southwest Asia (SWA), specifically his participation in combat operations.

The Board finds that the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of a chronic condition to account for neck pain, and thus service connection is denied.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining medical records and providing a VA examination to determine whether any current psychiatric disorder was caused or aggravated by events during military service.

The Veteran's anxiety disorder, along with major depressive disorder and PTSD, is currently rated at 50 percent disabling. The Board has determined that the evidence supports a 70 percent rating due to occupational and social impairment.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and Depression due to a lack of credible evidence linking these conditions to his military service.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical evidence and a need for further examinations.

The VA determined that the appellant's service-connected disabilities do not render him unable to obtain and retain substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran's service-connected dysthymic disorder with generalized anxiety disorder, traumatic arthritis of the lumbosacral spine, and scar of the left forehead render him unemployable prior to March 24, 2005.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, is being remanded due to the need for additional development and evidence.

The Board denied reopening the claim for service connection for the cause of death due to lack of new and material evidence, as the provided evidence was either cumulative or did not raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim.

The Board has ordered a remand to obtain additional VA and private medical records related to the Veteran's psychiatric conditions, specifically focusing on treatment from 1970 to 2009. The appeal will be reconsidered after these records are obtained.

The Board has determined that the evidence submitted by the Veteran since the November 1971 RO denial does not constitute new and material evidence, and thus the appeal is denied.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's anxiety disorder did not manifest during service or within one year after separation, and it is unrelated to her military service. Therefore, service connection for an anxiety disorder was denied.

The Veteran's service-connected adjustment disorder with anxiety and mood disorder is currently rated at 30 percent, effective from January 16, 2007. The scar of the abdomen does not meet a compensable rating.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining his SSA records and scheduling a new VA examination. The issues of entitlement to increased ratings for GAD, TDIU, and the determination regarding competency are all on hold until these steps are completed.

The Board has remanded the case to allow for additional development, including verifying the Veteran's claimed stressors and arranging for a VA examination.