Anxiety decisions — 2013

The Board has remanded the case for a new VA examination to determine if any current psychiatric disability is related to service, including an incident where the Veteran had to jump into water to rescue a friend who fell overboard.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining clarification of the Appellant's service dates and scheduling a VA examination to determine the nature, extent, and etiology of any current psychiatric disabilities.

The Board has determined that a remand is necessary in order to obtain additional medical opinions regarding the etiology of the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder and whether it is related to service-connected disabilities.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, specifically Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), is related to his military service and grants service connection for this condition.

The Veteran's psychiatric disability, specifically adjustment disorder with chronic anxiety, results in mild to moderate occupational and social impairment. The symptoms include occasional decrease in work efficiency, intermittent periods of inability to perform tasks, depression, anxiety, suspiciousness, anger and irritability, mild memory loss or concentration difficulties, and some relationship difficulties. These symptoms are currently rated as 30 percent disabling.

The Veteran's anxiety reaction with somatization features has been rated at 30 percent, but the Board finds that a higher rating of 70 percent is warranted.

The Veteran's combined disability rating of 60% does not meet the schedular criteria for a TDIU. The Board finds that his service-connected disabilities do not render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation.

The Board has remanded the case for further development and consideration, including verification of the appellant's periods of active duty training (ACDUTRA) and inactive duty for training (INACDUTRA).

The Board found no evidence of a current acquired psychiatric disorder and denied the Veteran's claim for service connection.

The Board finds that the Veteran does not have an acquired psychiatric disability, including PTSD, and therefore service connection is denied.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, anxiety, and depression, is being remanded due to the Veteran's failure to report for a VA examination. The case will be returned to the RO for further action.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, depression, and adjustment disorder with missed anxiety and depressed mood, is being remanded due to the need for a new VA examination.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss is denied as he does not have a current disability. The claims for acquired psychiatric disorder, IBS, shortness of breath, and bilateral pes planus are remanded for further development.

The Board has reopened the claim for service connection for irritable bowel syndrome. Service connection is granted for a lumbar spine disability, depressive disorder with anxiety, and bilateral ankle, knee, hip, wrist, elbow, and shoulder disabilities due to undiagnosed illness or in-service exposure.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for PTSD and found that new and material evidence has been submitted. The issue of service connection for a psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, Major Depressive Disorder, Bipolar Affective Disorder, and Adjustment Disorder Anxiety, is remanded for further development.

The case is REMANDED for the following actions: 1) Ask the Veteran to identify all providers of psychiatric treatment he has received since his discharge from active duty, and to provide authorizations for VA to obtain records of any such private treatment. The RO should secure for the record copies of complete clinical records of the treatment identified; 2) Arrange for a psychiatric examination of the Veteran to determine the nature and likely etiology of his psychiatric disability(ies).

The Veteran's PTSD with depression, anxiety, and sleep impairment is currently rated at 70 percent since October 3, 2012. The TDIU issue has been granted prior to September 21, 2009.

The Veteran's claim for an initial rating in excess of 50 percent for PTSD with anxiety and depression was denied by the Board, which remanded the matter due to a request for a video-conference hearing.

The Board has remanded the case due to the need for further research into the veracity of the Veteran's reported stressors in service. The claim will be reconsidered based on this additional information.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities (chronic anxiety and gastritis) combine to a rating of 70 percent, which is less than the required 100 percent for TDIU. The Veteran failed to appear at the scheduled VA examination, resulting in denial of his claim.