Anxiety decisions — 2018

The Board has reopened the claim of service connection for PTSD and remanded it for further development. The Veteran's psychiatric disorders, including PTSD, are currently under consideration.

The case is being remanded for further development and examination to determine the current level of severity of the Veteran's service-connected anxiety disorder, as well as its impact on his ability to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation. The RO will also consider the effects of the Veteran's prostate cancer on his employment.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and service-connected right knee disability did not prevent him from securing or maintaining substantially gainful employment prior to September 15, 2006. The Board found that his other service-connected conditions, including posttraumatic stress disorder and lumbosacral strain, also did not render him unemployable.

The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate VA examination and needs further development before a decision can be made.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, including PTSD, major depressive disorder and anxiety disorder, NOS, and denied his claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU). The reasons given were that there was no current diagnosis of PTSD, the Veteran did not meet the criteria for a diagnosis of PTSD. His major depressive disorder and anxiety disorder, NOS, were found to have not been incurred in service.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim of service connection for PTSD and determined that his acquired psychiatric disabilities, including PTSD, are linked to service. The in-service episode of psychosis resulting in a diagnosis of organic brain syndrome secondary to drug ingestion is considered not due to willful misconduct.

The Board has determined that additional development is necessary prior to appellate review and the case is REMANDED for further actions.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, to include PTSD, is being remanded due to the need for additional development and examination.

The Veteran's claim for service connection was received on October 31, 2014. The effective date of the grant of service connection is therefore set to that date.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development, including obtaining additional medical records and a VA examination to determine if his service-connected disabilities render him in need of regular aid and attendance or housebound.

The Veteran seeks service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include anxiety and depression. The Board has decided the case requires additional development due to the need for a VA examination.

The Veteran seeks service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, which has been diagnosed as depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, and psychotic disorder. The Board is remanding the case to obtain a more explicit response from the VA examiner regarding whether the Veteran's current psychiatric conditions are related to his military service.

The Board finds that the Veteran's heart or chest pain disorder is not related to service and is not caused by his service-connected anxiety disorder.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, a sleep disorder, and hypertension due to lack of current diagnoses and insufficient evidence linking these conditions to his military service.

The Veteran's service-connected major depressive disorder with anxiety is currently rated at 50 percent disabling, and the Board found that it does not meet the criteria for a higher rating. The Veteran was denied an increased disability rating for his MDD as well as service connection for PTSD.

The Board found that the Veteran does not have an acquired psychiatric disorder other than PTSD, and therefore denied service connection for this condition. The claim for sleep apnea secondary to PTSD was also addressed but is not included in the summary as it pertains to a different issue.

The Veteran's claim for an initial increased rating in excess of 70 percent prior to September 12, 2017, for his service-connected anxiety disorder is dismissed as moot because he has been granted the maximum benefit allowed by law and regulation.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to missed VA examination and outstanding VA records. The TDIU claim is also being remanded for further development.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's psychiatric disabilities, including anxiety and panic attacks, generalized anxiety disorder, OCD, social anxiety, delusions, paranoia, and bipolar disorder, are related to service. However, there is no evidence of current residuals from a head injury incurred in service.

The claims for Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Social Phobia have been reopened, but service connection is not granted.,PTSD has been reopened and considered on the merits. The claim is pending further review.