Anxiety Board decisions

The Board has vacated the May 28, 2020 decision due to denial of due process. The case is remanded for further action on service connection claims including PTSD and anxiety disorders.

An effective date of November 10, 2016 for a 100% rating for persistent depressive disorder with generalized anxiety is granted.,The claim for Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) benefits is remanded until the TDIU claim is adjudicated.

The Board denied a rating in excess of 30 percent for hiatal hernia with GERD and granted a TDIU, finding the Veteran unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment due to service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for various service-connected disabilities, including hearing loss, anxiety disorder, headaches, sleep apnea, shoulder strain, vertigo, back issues, sciatica, and nerve damage in the upper extremities, were denied. The Board found that there was no evidence of current disability for some conditions (e.g., left ear hearing loss) or insufficient symptoms to warrant higher ratings.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claim for an acquired psychiatric disability, including PTSD, due to incomplete evidence and need for additional examination.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, diagnosed as adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and chronic depression. The decision is based on credible lay assertions of the Veteran and his wife, along with a favorable VA opinion that found the Veteran's account of in-service experiences to be credible.

The Veteran's anxiety disorder not otherwise specified has been granted a 70 percent rating since July 20, 2010. A total disability individual unemployability (TDIU) rating has also been granted.

The Board has determined that the VA examination did not substantially comply with the remand instructions and thus, the case is being returned for further development.

The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, is granted with a 50% rating throughout the entire period on appeal. The initial compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss disability and service connection for sleep disorder are denied.

The Veteran's appeals to reopen claims of service connection for various conditions have been dismissed due to the Veteran withdrawing his appeal. The Board also remanded several issues related to service connection.

The Board has found the June 2019 VA psychiatric examination to be inadequate for purposes of evaluating the Veteran's service-connected anxiety with depressive disorder, due to its failure to consider relevant medical history and contemporaneous medical evidence. The claim is being remanded for a new retrospective examination.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder and residuals of an infectious disease due to incomplete development of records, including in-service treatment records. The Veteran was not available for examination regarding his stressors and current symptoms.

The Veteran's claim for an increased disability evaluation for PTSD has been dismissed because the RO issued a Statement of the Case, and the Veteran did not appeal it. The Board also remanded his anxiety disorder claim but did not issue a statement of the case on that issue.

The Board has granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including dysthymic disorder, depressive disorder, and anxiety. The decision finds that the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder was superimposed upon his pre-existing personality disorder during service.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a back disorder was granted. The claim for service connection for acquired psychiatric disorders (including persistent depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and panic disorder) was also granted.

The Veteran's back injury, depression, anxiety and mood disorder (secondary to the back injury), headaches, erectile dysfunction, and diabetes are all granted as service connected. The lumbosacral radiculopathy and sleep disorder claims are remanded.

The Board denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder including PTSD, anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, and adjustment disorder due to lack of evidence linking the disorders to military service.

The Veteran's claim for increased rating of fibromyalgia is being remanded due to the need for further development.,The issues of service connection for bilateral hearing loss, an acquired psychiatric disorder (including anxiety, depression, and PTSD), and sleep apnea are being remanded as new evidence has been received that may support these claims.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of dermal lupus and therefore denied service connection for this condition. The cases regarding TBI, low back pain, anxiety disorder, and fibromuscular dysplasia are remanded due to inadequacies in previous VA examinations.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims of entitlement to service connection for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and major depression, recurrent, with anxiety features due to a need for further development and re-adjudication.