Anxiety Board decisions

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining service personnel records and inpatient/outpatient treatment records. The Veteran's psychiatric condition will be evaluated to determine if it is related to his military service.

The Board has granted service connection for major depression, finding that the Veteran's current diagnosis is related to his period of active military service. The case must be remanded to obtain a medical opinion regarding the likelihood that any currently diagnosed psychiatric disorder other than PTSD was caused or aggravated by active service.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining additional medical records and re-adjudicating the claims. The Veteran's claim of service connection for a back disorder is being considered, as well as his request to reopen his claim for depression and anxiety secondary to a back disorder.

The Veteran's appeal was dismissed due to his death, and the Board has no jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of this claim.

The Veteran's death was not caused by his service-connected conditions, and therefore the claim for DIC benefits under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1318 is denied.

The Board denied the appellant's claims for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death and DIC under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1318, finding that new and material evidence had not been presented to reopen the claim for service connection and that the criteria for DIC benefits were not met.

The Board has remanded the case for further development due to inconsistencies in the Veteran's allegations and lack of corroborating evidence. The appeal is currently pending.

The Veteran's service-connected anxiety disorder with cognitive disorder contributed substantially or materially to his death from pneumonia, and the Board finds it at least as likely as not that this disability caused or aggravated his condition.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including panic disorder, is being remanded due to the need for a medical opinion regarding whether his current psychiatric conditions are related to events in service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current acquired psychiatric disorder, specifically depressive disorder with anxiety, is due to his service-connected right knee and left foot disorders. As such, the claim for service connection is granted.

The Board has granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder other than dementia/Alzheimer's disease, including PTSD and anxiety disorders, on the basis of a stressor related to his service aboard the USS Oriskany in October 1966. The claim is based on accrued benefits as the Veteran died after the initial decision but before the appeal was decided.

The Veteran's service-connected generalized anxiety disorder is currently rated at 30 percent, reflecting occupational and social impairment with occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform occupational tasks due to difficulty staying asleep, panic attacks occurring less frequently than once per week, anxiety, and depressed mood.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including scheduling a VA examination to determine the etiology of any current acquired psychiatric disorder and whether it is related to service or a service-connected disability.

The Veteran's PTSD was initially rated at 50 percent prior to March 20, 2007 and increased to 70 percent from that date. The appeal is for a higher rating.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), is being remanded due to the need for additional development of his medical records and possible SSA disability benefits records. The case will be reviewed after these records are obtained.

The Board has denied the appellant's claims for service connection for various conditions, including anxiety disorder, hemorrhoids, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, athlete's foot and toenail fungus, plantar fasciitis, sinus disability, high cholesterol, heart disability, back disability with sciatica, numbness of the right lower extremity, ruptured disc, neck injury, and left arm and shoulder disability. The Board found that there was no evidence to support these claims.

The Board has granted the Appellant's claim for service connection for a psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD and anxiety.

The Veteran's claim for hepatitis C has been reopened and is being reviewed on the merits.,The skin disorder claim related to Agent Orange exposure remains pending, as new evidence was submitted but does not relate to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claim.,The psychiatric disorder claim is being addressed in a separate remand.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD, left knee disability as secondary to right knee disability, and low back disability as secondary to right knee disability due to his character of discharge from service.

The Veteran's generalized anxiety disorder was manifested by occasional symptoms such as depressed mood, anxiety and worry, intermittent sleep disturbances, but did not meet the criteria for a higher initial disability rating of more than 30 percent from October 12, 2007 through September 30, 2008.