Anxiety decisions — 2024

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood, as secondary to his service-connected diabetes mellitus, type I. The decision resolves all reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran.

The Veteran's GAD was granted service connection on a direct basis. The claims for back disability, diabetes mellitus type II, hypertension, and stroke are remanded due to duty to assist errors.

The Board has found a duty to assist error and remands the case for a VA opinion on whether the Veteran's generalized anxiety disorder had its onset during service or is otherwise related to service.

The Board has decided that a remand is required to address the Veteran's claim for service connection for anxiety, as there was an error in not providing a VA examination. The examiner will be asked to determine if the Veteran's current anxiety disorder is related to his active duty service.

The Board has granted service connection for generalized anxiety disorder with depressive features, but has remanded the claim of heart murmur due to insufficient evidence.

The Board denied service connection for a psychiatric disorder (anxiety and depression) as there is no current diagnosis of such condition.

The Board denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, depressive disorder, and anxiety disorder due to the lack of a diagnosed condition related to service.

The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including allergic rhinitis, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, earaches, anxiety, depression, insomnia, hip conditions, shoulder conditions, hand and knee arthritis, lumbago, plantar fasciitis, and upper extremity radiculopathy. The evidence did not support a finding of current disability or a link to service for any condition.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to a duty-to-assist error and additional development is needed, including obtaining VA examinations for psychiatric disorders.

The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for depression, insomnia, and anxiety disorder due to a lack of an examination or medical opinion addressing these conditions.

The Veteran's anxiety disorder is granted a 70 percent rating, but no higher. The initial rating for his chronic fatigue syndrome remains at 10 percent.

The Board denied the Veteran's request for an earlier effective date of August 17, 2020, for his award of a 100 percent disability rating for unspecified depressive disorder (previously adjustment disorder with depressed mood) claimed as depression and anxiety. The effective date is based on the fact that the increase in disability occurred after the date of claim.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to uncertainty about whether the Veteran's fatigue symptoms are related to another disability or a distinct condition. The Veteran will need to undergo a VA examination to clarify this.

The Veteran's MDD with GAD is rated at 70 percent disabling effective April 25, 2019. The claim for an earlier effective date was denied.

The Veteran's adjustment reaction with anxiety and depressive features resulted in occupational and social impairment, warranting a disability rating of 70 percent from May 15, 2015, forward.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to a need for additional evidence and examination regarding the Veteran's claim of service connection for an anxiety condition.

The Veteran's tension headaches are rated as noncompensable, and the claim for an increased rating is denied.,The Veteran's tinnitus is rated at its maximum of 10 percent, and no higher rating is granted. The claim for a higher rating is denied.,The Veteran's anxiety disorder is currently rated at 50 percent, but the claim for a higher disability rating is denied.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for Total Disability Evaluation Based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU) as his service-connected conditions do not render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation.

The Veteran seeks an earlier effective date for his TDIU award, which was granted on May 27, 2014. The Board is remanding the case to determine if he should have been awarded a TDIU prior to that date.

The Veteran's adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood, along with other recurrent depressive disorder, is granted as service-connected. The claim is based on direct evidence from service.