Anxiety decisions — 2023

The Board has remanded the claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder due to incomplete service treatment records and conflicting medical opinions. The Veteran's in-service stressors need further clarification, and a new opinion is required.

The Veteran's erectile dysfunction is granted as secondary to his service-connected hypertension. The psychiatric disorders are remanded for further examination and determination of their etiology.

The Board has granted service connection for right shoulder rotator cuff tear and impingement syndrome, lumbosacral strain, degenerative arthritis of the thoracolumbar spine, major depressive disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder with panic attacks as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected right knee meniscal and anterior cruciate ligament tears with degenerative arthritis.,The Board has also granted service connection for these conditions on a causation basis.

The Board has remanded the claim due to insufficient opinions regarding the etiology of the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorders, specifically PTSD, depression, GAD, and unspecified mood disorder. The VA examiner was asked to determine if these conditions are linked to heat exhaustion during active duty service.

The Veteran's service-connected conditions, including migraine headaches, left and right shoulder strains, anxiety disorder, tinnitus, and hearing loss, are of sufficient severity to produce unemployability as defined by regulation. The Board has granted total disability due to individual unemployability (TDIU).

The Veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability was reopened and granted. The Board found that the evidence is in relative equipoise regarding whether the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disability is proximately due to or aggravated by his service-connected disabilities, including obstructive sleep apnea, lumbago, and pes planus with bilateral plantar fasciitis.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, anxiety, and/or depressive disorder due to a sexual assault during service. The case is being returned for further development, including obtaining legible copies of military personnel records and scheduling a VA examination.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a left knee disability and remanded the issues of entitlement to increased ratings for major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder with PTSD, and TDIU.

The Veteran's headaches are granted as secondary to his service-connected tinnitus and unspecified anxiety disorder.,The Veteran's joint pain is denied because it is caused by degenerative arthritis, not an undiagnosed illness or MUCMI.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient verification of the Veteran's claimed stressors and for a new VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of his psychiatric disorder.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to insufficient evidence and need for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records and corroborating in-service stressors.

The Veteran's current psychiatric disorders are at least as likely as not related to in-service events involving personal assault and also his service-connected left shoulder impingement syndrome. Service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including anxiety, is granted.

The Veteran's major depressive disorder with generalized anxiety is granted as service-connected.,The right knee disability is not secondary to the service-connected left knee disability and thus denied.,An effective date of September 26, 2017, for a 30 percent rating for cluster headaches is granted.

The Board has found that there has not been substantial compliance with the prior November 2022 remand and further development is necessary for both Parkinson's disease and psychiatric disability claims.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a total disability rating for individual unemployability (TDIU) as his service-connected disabilities did not render him unable to secure and follow substantially gainful employment, despite meeting the schedular criteria for TDIU.

The Board has granted service connection for dysthymic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and PTSD. The claim for PTSD is remanded due to an inadequate VA examination.

The Board has remanded the case due to non-compliance with previous remand directives, and a new VA examination is required to determine if the Veteran's current psychiatric disorders are related to his military service.

The Board has granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including anxiety and depression, as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected sleep apnea disability.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection and increased rating of hand scars due to inadequate opinions on psychiatric conditions and incomplete scar examination.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to inadequate examination and unclear etiology of the Veteran's psychiatric conditions. The issues include an acquired psychiatric disorder (including PTSD, depression, anxiety) and alcohol abuse disorder.