Anxiety decisions — 2021

The Board found no evidence of a residual disability resulting from the dental surgery, concluding that any issues were not caused by VA care or negligence.

The Veteran's tension headaches were granted service connection effective September 30, 1980.,An earlier effective date for the grant of unspecified anxiety disorder is denied.

The Board denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder (unspecified anxiety disorder and depressive disorder) as the Veteran did not experience any in-service psychological injury, disease, or event that could be linked to her current conditions.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to errors in duty to assist and inadequate opinions. The issues include psychiatric disabilities, low back disability, knee disabilities, and somatic symptom disorder.

The Veteran's claims for depression, bipolar disorder, hepatitis C, PTSD, and anxiety were denied as the evidence did not establish a link to service.

The Veteran's anxiety disorder evaluation is being remanded due to the lack of recent medical records.

The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate medical opinions regarding the cause of death and its relation to service or service-connected conditions. The Veteran's cause of death is dementia, which must be further evaluated by a mental health specialist.

The Veteran's restoration of a 40 percent evaluation for lumbar spine strain from May 1, 2021 is denied.,A rating higher than 40 percent prior to May 1, 2021, and higher than 20 percent thereafter for the same condition is also denied.,The Veteran's claim of entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities (TDIU) is remanded.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD, depressive disorder, and anxiety is granted. The claims for increased evaluation of lumbar spine degenerative arthritis and TDIU are remanded.

Service connection is granted for diabetes mellitus type II, generalized anxiety disorder and major depression disease, and cause of death.,Service connection is denied for bilateral hearing loss.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities prior to July 27, 2015 did not prevent her from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation.

The Board denied service connection for respiratory disability (to include asthma and COPD), nasal problems, sleep apnea, PTSD, and social anxiety as the evidence did not support a finding that these conditions began during or were related to active service.

The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate reasons and bases in its previous denial of service connection for schizophrenia with anxiety. The Veteran should be afforded a VA examination to address whether his current disability had onset during his honorable period of service or within the first year following that period, and if it is causally related to his honorable service.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for a disability evaluation in excess of 10 percent for service-connected TBI and for a total disability evaluation based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to service-connected disabilities. Additional development is needed, including obtaining updated private medical records, scheduling examinations to assess the severity of the Veteran's TBI and residual anxiety, and requesting completion of a VA Form 21-8940 from the Veteran.

The Veteran's service-connected acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, and alcohol use disorder in stable remission due to military sexual trauma, is granted with a rating of 70 percent from December 5, 2007, to June 20, 2016.

The Veteran's claim of service connection for a psychiatric disorder is reopened, and the case is remanded to obtain updated VA treatment records and schedule the Veteran for a VA psychiatric examination.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood, finding that these conditions are related to in-service personal assaults.

The Veteran's service-connected generalized anxiety and major depressive disorder with substance abuse is not productive of total social and occupational impairment.,The Veteran has met the schedular criteria for Total Disability Rating Based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU), as his service-connected disabilities rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation.

The Veteran's appeal for increased disability ratings for his service-connected generalized anxiety disorder with depressive disorder, not otherwise specified (also claimed as PTSD) has been dismissed due to the Veteran withdrawing his appeal.

The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete development regarding the Veteran's reported in-service stressor and unit records.