Anxiety decisions — 2024

The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including anxiety and major depressive disorder, is granted as secondary to his service-connected traumatic brain injury. His erectile dysfunction is also granted due to in-service urethritis. The Veteran is awarded SMC based on loss of use of a creative organ due to ED. The peripheral vestibular disorder remains at 30 percent, while the migraine headaches are rated at 50 percent.

The Veteran's claim for an initial rating in excess of 50 percent for major depressive disorder is remanded due to incomplete VA examination and the need for a new retrospective opinion.

The Board has denied service connection for lower back pain and erectile dysfunction. The claim for acquired psychiatric disorder is remanded due to insufficient evidence.

The Board denied service connection for major depression and anxiety disorder as there is no current diagnosis of these conditions in the Veteran's records.

The Board denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability and sinusitis due to the lack of a current diagnosis under DSM-5 criteria and the absence of chronicity, respectively. The appellant's symptoms were not supported by medical evidence.

The Board has remanded the case due to errors in duty to assist and inadequate medical opinion. The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder is being reviewed for service connection.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for depression, PTSD, and an acquired psychiatric disorder (claimed as anxiety and stress) due to a lack of current diagnoses.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to inadequate VA examinations and incomplete records. The Veteran is entitled to additional etiology opinions on his acquired psychiatric, respiratory, cardiac, vestibular, hearing loss/tinnitus, and orthopedic disabilities.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for unspecified anxiety disorder is granted, effective September 7, 2020.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to a lack of medical opinion regarding whether his acquired psychiatric disorder and cervical neck disorder are related to service. The Veteran is to be scheduled for VA examinations to address these issues.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for unspecified anxiety disorder was granted effective from January 24, 2021. The AOJ considered new and relevant service department records submitted in March 2021 that confirmed the Veteran's reports of psychologically stressful events during his active service.

The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate medical opinions and procedural errors, including incorrect examination instructions.

The Board has decided that service connection for migraine headaches is denied. The claims of service connection for a psychiatric disorder including sleep disturbances, anxiety disorder, and paranoia, as well as obstructive sleep apnea are REMANDED.

The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder and a low back disability due to duty-to-assist errors that occurred prior to the January 2022 rating decision on appeal. The AOJ will consider any evidence submitted after the AOJ decision in the adjudication of these claims.

The Board has remanded the claims of erectile dysfunction, bladder dysfunction, and mood disorder due to insufficient evidence at the time of the January 2022 decision. The Veteran's appeal is now without representation.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Obstructive Sleep Apnea were granted with effective dates of January 6, 2021.

The Board has determined that there are pre-decisional duty-to-assist errors in the Veteran's claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder and back pain. Therefore, the claims are REMANDED to allow for VA examinations to address these issues.

The Veteran's anxiety disorder caused occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform occupational tasks, but not with reduced reliability and productivity. The Board found the overall impairment consistent with a 30 percent rating.

The Veteran's claim for a disability rating in excess of 30 percent for anxiety disorder was denied. The Board found that the evidence did not reflect symptoms that would meet the criteria for a higher rating.,The Veteran's claim for TDIU was also denied as he does not have a single service-connected disability rated at 60% or more, nor a combined disability rating of 70% or more.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's psychiatric disability claim should be remanded due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error. A new VA examination is required to evaluate the nature, onset, and etiology of his psychiatric disability.