Anxiety Board decisions

The Board has granted a 50 percent disability rating for the veteran's anxiety reaction with depressive features, finding that his reliability, flexibility and efficiency levels are so reduced as to result in considerable social and industrial impairment.

The VA has granted an increased rating of 50 percent for the veteran's service-connected anxiety reaction with hysterical features and tremors, currently rated as 30 percent disabling.

The Board has determined that there was clear and unmistakable error in the July 1971 rating decision, which denied service connection for a nervous disorder. The effective date of service connection for PTSD is now set to May 19, 2004.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for anxiety, left ear hearing loss, and rheumatoid arthritis as there is no competent medical evidence linking these conditions to his military service.

The Board found that the veteran's reported history is not credible and there was no evidence of a psychiatric disorder in service or any corroborated incident in service to which his current generalized anxiety disorder is attributed. Therefore, the claim for service connection for a generalized anxiety disorder was denied.

The Board denied a compensable evaluation for the veteran's service-connected anxiety reaction, finding no current disabling symptomatology.

The veteran's claim for special monthly compensation based on the need for aid and attendance of another is being remanded due to the need for a current VA examination, as well as further development regarding service connection for residuals of head injury.

The veteran's claim for an increased rating of his service-connected anxiety reaction with PTSD was granted, and he is now rated at 30 percent prior to May 22, 2000. Service connection has also been established for heart disorder with hypertension as secondary to the service-connected anxiety reaction with PTSD, and gastroesophageal reflux disease with dyspepsia as secondary to the service-connected anxiety reaction with PTSD.

The Board has granted service connection for a psychiatric disability including PTSD, a skin disorder identified as mild recurrent itching with lichen simplex, and hypertension. The veteran's colds and flu-like symptoms are not considered due to undiagnosed illness.

The Board denied the veteran's claim to reopen his service connection for a psychiatric disability, finding that the new evidence did not raise a reasonable possibility of establishing that his pre-existing pyschiatric disability was aggravated by military service.

The Board has determined that the veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including major depressive disorder with psychotic features and an anxiety disorder not otherwise specified, is proximately due to or the result of a service-connected disability (left knee residuals), and his degenerative joint and disc disease of the lumbar spine was aggravated by his service-connected left ankle sprain. Both conditions are therefore granted.

The Board found that the veteran's anxiety neurosis does not meet the criteria for an increased rating, as it is only manifested by mild symptoms and does not cause significant impairment in work or social functioning.

The Board has determined that the veteran's reported in-service stressors are credible and have been corroborated, allowing for service connection for a psychiatric disorder, to include post-traumatic stress disorder.

The Board has granted a 30 percent disability rating for left knee arthritis, effective from the date of the decision. The claim for higher ratings for anxiety reaction and total disability based on individual unemployability remains pending.

The Board has determined that the veteran's current psychiatric disorders, including PTSD, major depression, and anxiety disorder, are related to his service. Therefore, service connection for these conditions is granted.

The Board has decided to remand the case for additional development, including a VA psychiatric examination to differentiate between service-connected and nonservice-connected symptoms.

The veteran's anxiety disorder causes considerable occupational and social impairment, including difficulty establishing and maintaining relationships. A 50 percent rating is granted for generalized anxiety disorder with panic attacks.

The veteran's anxiety reaction with PTSD was rated at 30 percent from January 29, 1971, through January 22, 1990.

The Board has determined that the veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including major depression and anxiety disorders, is related to his service experiences, particularly a stabbing incident in 1981. The claim was reopened due to new evidence provided by Dr. G.

The Board has granted the appellant's request to reopen his claim of entitlement to service connection for anxiety and bipolar disorder, finding new and material evidence. The issue of whether he is entitled to service connection for PTSD secondary to sexual assault during service remains pending.