Anxiety decisions — 2016

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to inadequate examination findings and new evidence.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development, including an examination to determine the etiology of his psychiatric disabilities and issuance of a Statement of the Case on the earlier effective date claim.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including verification of in-service stressors and a VA examination to address the nature and etiology of the Veteran's acquired psychiatric condition.

The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including anxiety and depression, was found to warrant a 70% evaluation effective January 30, 2013. The symptoms were present prior to this date.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims due to procedural issues and the need for additional medical examination and opinion regarding his psychiatric disorder.

The Board has remanded the case due to unclear duty status and need for further medical examinations. The appellant's claims will be reconsidered based on this new information.

The Board granted an initial rating of 30 percent for the Veteran's anxiety disorder not otherwise specified, finding that his symptoms warranted this level of disability. The claims for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus were also granted.

The Veteran's anxiety disorder has been granted service connection and rated at 50 percent since November 3, 2008. The rating for his major depressive disorder is not addressed as it was not assigned a specific rating.

The Veteran has withdrawn her appeals for higher initial disability ratings for an acquired psychiatric disorder including anxiety and depression, and for allergic rhinitis. Her appeal for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service connected disability (TDIU) is also dismissed.

The Veteran's appeal is currently pending and requires additional development, including a new VA examination for his anxiety disorder and consideration of the issue of TDIU. The case will be remanded to the AOJ for further action.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including a VA psychiatric examination under the DSM-IV criteria to determine the current nature, extent, and severity of his service-connected GAD. The examiner must also provide an opinion as to the impact of the Veteran's service-connected disabilities on his ability to secure and follow substantially gainful employment consistent with his education and occupational experience.

The Veteran's TENS unit and right knee brace caused wear and tear to his clothing, which resulted in a clothing allowance for the year 2014.

The Veteran's service-connected seizure disorder rendered him unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation from January 23, 2007 to September 30, 2011. After that date, his other service-connected disabilities did not render him unemployable.

The Veteran's appeal has been dismissed as the appellant requested withdrawal of the appeal prior to the Board's decision.

The Veteran's PTSD, anxiety disorder NOS with poor sleep and alcohol use disorder is productive of occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas, including work, family relations, judgment, thinking and mood. The Board has assigned a disability rating of 70 percent for this condition.

The Veteran's TBI residuals did not result in neurological disabilities or multi-infarct dementia, and his greatest impairment was from subjective symptoms which were assigned a facet level score of '2' in the Evaluation of Cognitive Impairment and Other Residuals of TBI Not Otherwise Classified table. The criteria for an evaluation in excess of 40 percent have not been met.

The Board finds that the evidence is in relative equipoise with respect to whether the Veteran's current bipolar disorder first manifested during service. As such, the claim for service connection is granted.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records and scheduling an examination. The issues of entitlement to higher ratings for anxiety disorder and acne vulgaris are also being addressed.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development, including obtaining SSA records and VA examination reports to determine the nature, extent, and etiology of any diagnosed acquired psychiatric disorder and hypertension.

The Veteran's initial ratings for his anxiety disorder and depressive disorder were denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a higher rating prior to April 19, 2011, or from April 19, 2011.