Anxiety decisions — 2020

The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, anxiety, depression, personality disorder, and learning disorder. The evidence does not support a finding that these conditions are related to service.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a respiratory disorder (claimed as asthma) and a psychiatric disorder (to include posttraumatic stress disorder, adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood), both of which were not found to be related to his military service.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for low back disability, an acquired psychiatric disability (including anxiety and major depressive disorder), left foot disability, right foot disability, and skin cancer (basal cell carcinoma and melanoma) due to unresolved issues.

The Board has determined that additional information is required to decide the claims for left foot disorder, right leg shin splints, gastrointestinal disorder, acquired psychiatric disorder, and cervical spine disorder. The Veteran's service connection claims are being remanded for further development.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings of his service-connected bronchial asthma and anxiety disorder, not otherwise specified, were denied. The claim for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea was remanded.,The Veteran’s bronchial asthma is currently evaluated at a 30 percent disability rating due to the lack of post-bronchodilator results meeting specific criteria.

The Board has remanded the case due to new evidence received after the previous Statement of the Case (SOC). The RO must consider and address all of the evidence, including a VA examination and updated treatment records, in an appropriate Supplemental Statement of the Case (SSOC).

The claim for restoration of a 20 percent rating for a lumbar spine disorder, from April 1, 2018 onwards, is granted. The claims for service connection for headaches, acid reflux with heartburn, an acquired psychiatric disorder (to include anxiety disorder), and sleep apnea with insomnia are remanded.

The Board has denied a higher disability rating for the Veteran's left elbow fracture and remanded the service connection claim for an acquired psychiatric disability. The case is now pending with instructions to obtain a new expert opinion from a psychologist.

The Veteran's PTSD, major depressive disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder have been rated at 70 percent since January 2, 2019. The appeal has been denied as the symptoms do not meet the criteria for a higher rating.

The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder is granted a 50% rating. The Board has remanded the issues of service connection for respiratory condition, colitis, and prostate gland hypertrophy due to herbicide exposure.

The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorders, including PTSD and unspecified anxiety disorder with bereavement, are granted as service connected due to the presence of a current diagnosis related to in-service stressors.

The Veteran's service-connected fibromyalgia disability is found to be the primary cause of his headaches and anxiety disorder. The Board has granted service connection for these conditions, effective from January 3, 2017.

The Board has remanded the case due to a need for further development regarding whether the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disability is caused or aggravated by his service-connected disabilities, specifically chronic headaches, lumbar spine disability, and cervical spine disability with bilateral upper extremity radiculopathy.

The Board has remanded the claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, anxiety, depression, and schizoaffective disorder due to a lack of adequate medical opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's PTSD.

The Veteran's anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder have not been shown to result in total occupational and social impairment, thus the current rating of 70 percent is denied.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence on whether the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disability, including generalized anxiety disorder with alcohol abuse, is secondary to his service-connected back disability.

The Board has granted service connection for chronic headaches and an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, panic disorder with anxiety, and MDD, as these conditions are related to the Veteran's in-service personal assault.

The Veteran's PTSD with major depressive disorder, recurrent panic disorder, agoraphobia and generalized anxiety disorder is rated at 70 percent since January 8, 2015.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, finding that there was no evidence to support a causal relationship between her current mental health conditions and her military service.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical evidence regarding the relationship between the Veteran's psychiatric disability and his active service. The VA examiner is requested to provide an opinion on whether the Veteran's adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood had its onset during or is otherwise related to his military service.