Anxiety decisions — 2020

The Board has found the June 2019 VA psychiatric examination to be inadequate for purposes of evaluating the Veteran's service-connected anxiety with depressive disorder, due to its failure to consider relevant medical history and contemporaneous medical evidence. The claim is being remanded for a new retrospective examination.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder and residuals of an infectious disease due to incomplete development of records, including in-service treatment records. The Veteran was not available for examination regarding his stressors and current symptoms.

The Veteran's claim for an increased disability evaluation for PTSD has been dismissed because the RO issued a Statement of the Case, and the Veteran did not appeal it. The Board also remanded his anxiety disorder claim but did not issue a statement of the case on that issue.

The Board has granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including dysthymic disorder, depressive disorder, and anxiety. The decision finds that the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder was superimposed upon his pre-existing personality disorder during service.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a back disorder was granted. The claim for service connection for acquired psychiatric disorders (including persistent depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and panic disorder) was also granted.

The Veteran's back injury, depression, anxiety and mood disorder (secondary to the back injury), headaches, erectile dysfunction, and diabetes are all granted as service connected. The lumbosacral radiculopathy and sleep disorder claims are remanded.

The Board denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder including PTSD, anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, and adjustment disorder due to lack of evidence linking the disorders to military service.

The Veteran's claim for increased rating of fibromyalgia is being remanded due to the need for further development.,The issues of service connection for bilateral hearing loss, an acquired psychiatric disorder (including anxiety, depression, and PTSD), and sleep apnea are being remanded as new evidence has been received that may support these claims.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of dermal lupus and therefore denied service connection for this condition. The cases regarding TBI, low back pain, anxiety disorder, and fibromuscular dysplasia are remanded due to inadequacies in previous VA examinations.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims of entitlement to service connection for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and major depression, recurrent, with anxiety features due to a need for further development and re-adjudication.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed for the Veteran's claims on appeal, including obtaining SSA and VAMC records, providing addendum opinions regarding HTN, and assessing the current severity of his service-connected disabilities. The appeals are REMANDED.

The Board has decided that the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorders, including persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia), unspecified anxiety disorder, and mood disorder due to a general medical condition (chronic pain) are not secondary to his service-connected left shoulder disability. The case is being remanded for further development.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder and hypertension as secondary to PTSD due to inadequate examination findings and conflicting diagnoses.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD. The evidence is at least in equipoise as to whether his current psychiatric disorders are related to his military service.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for insomnia was denied due to his failure to report for a VA examination. The Board has remanded the issue of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, including adjustment disorder with mixed disturbances, generalized anxiety, recurrent moderate major depression, intermittent explosive disorder, and mood disorder.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for the following reasons: to obtain private treatment records from Durham Regional Hospital and any other sources related to emergency medical technician (EMT) services, and to provide a VA examination to determine the severity of his service-connected anxiety disorder.

The Veteran's increased rating claim for headaches was denied, and his service connection claims for an acquired psychiatric disorder and a GI disorder were granted. The case is remanded to obtain additional medical opinions regarding the nature of the Veteran's insomnia and TDIU.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining service records and a VA medical opinion to determine if the Veteran's low back condition and psychiatric disorder are related to his military service.

The Veteran's appeal for service connection of left knee, right knee, and sleep apnea disabilities is dismissed. A 50 percent rating is granted for PTSD from June 6, 2012.

The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate VA examinations, and a new examination is needed to determine if any of the claimed stressors are adequate to support diagnoses of PTSD, anxiety disorder, or adjustment disorder. The examiner must also opine on whether these conditions are related to service.