Anxiety decisions — 2023

The appeal for an earlier effective date for the award of a 70 percent rating for generalized anxiety disorder is dismissed due to the appellant's death.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for anxiety and depression as separate conditions from his service-connected PTSD, as well as the claim for an initial rating in excess of 50 percent for PTSD, have been denied. The effective date for service connection for PTSD remains August 26, 2016.

The Board has remanded the cases for additional development due to a request for a Decision Review Office (DRO) hearing.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the onset and etiology of diagnosed psychiatric disabilities, including PTSD.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is currently rated at 10 percent from June 8, 2012 to August 23, 2019. The Board has granted a TDIU effective March 29, 2019.,From March 29, 2019 to August 23, 2019, the Veteran is entitled to a TDIU due to his service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, depression, and anxiety, was denied in previous rating decisions. New evidence has been received to reopen the claim, but further development is needed due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the onset of any current diagnoses.

The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for service connection due to lack of VA examinations and requests for a medical opinion.

The Board has granted a 100 percent disability rating for the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disability effective April 17, 2017. The evidence shows that her mental health condition had worsened and she was experiencing total occupational and social impairment.

The Veteran requested to withdraw his appeal for a rating in excess of 50 percent prior to February 18, 2019, and in excess of 70 percent thereafter for anxiety disorder. The Board dismissed the appeal as per the Veteran's request.

The Veteran's persistent depressive disorder with generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder is granted a 100 percent rating, which represents total occupational and social impairment.

The Board has granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder (recurrent depressive disorder and unspecified anxiety disorder) and a right lower extremity disorder (right lower extremity tendonitis, well healed distal fibula injury with mild irregularity seen on X-ray, Achilles tendinopathy).

The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete compliance with previous instructions, requiring a new VA psychiatric examination and opinion.

The Board has remanded the case due to the need for additional development, including obtaining VA and private treatment records, scheduling a VA examination, and determining if any psychiatric disorder is related to service or service-connected conditions.

The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including an acquired psychiatric disorder (depression, anxiety, and PTSD), a sleep disability, hemorrhoids, a right hip disability, and chronic joint pain. The evidence did not support the Veteran's claims of in-service onset or relationship to service.

The Board has found that additional development is needed to determine the nature and etiology of any current acquired psychiatric disorders, including PTSD. The case will be remanded for further development.

The Board has granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including depressive disorder and anxiety disorder, finding that the Veteran's symptoms are related to his military service.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder and hypertension have been denied as there is no evidence of a current disability, in-service event or disease, or a causal relationship to service.,There is no evidence of hypertension during service. The September 2020 VA examination found the Veteran has hypertension but did not find it related to service.

The Veteran's service-connected Major Depressive Disorder with Anxiety is rated at 100 percent, the highest possible rating. The appeal for TDIU due to service-connected disability is dismissed as moot.

The Board has remanded the case due to an incomplete Statement of the Case for the service connection claim for a psychiatric disorder.

The Veteran's appeal for a higher disability rating for his service-connected mood disorder not otherwise specified has been dismissed as the Veteran requested to withdraw all remaining issues on appeal.