Acquired psychiatric disorder decisions — 2001

The Board has remanded the veteran's claims due to new legal requirements and additional development needed.

The June 6th, 1973 rating action denied the veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities. The March 1949 rating action terminated a temporary total rating for convalescence purposes and assigned separate evaluations for left leg and thigh muscle injuries.

The Board has remanded the case due to new evidence and a need for further development, including obtaining additional medical records and scheduling a VA examination.

The veteran's appeal involves a new claim for service connection due to the change in diagnoses over time, and he is seeking service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder. The case must be remanded for further development.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for a vitreous floater of the right eye, refractive error, and a psychiatric disorder secondary to service-connected disabilities. The appeal was also denied for service connection for a dental condition.

The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), on the basis of new and material evidence submitted by the appellant.

The Board found no evidence of current disabilities and concluded that the veteran's claimed conditions are not related to his service, including exposure to ionizing radiation.

The Board has granted service connection for PTSD and denied the other issues due to lack of evidence supporting the claimed stressors.

The veteran's PTSD has been rated at 30 percent since the May 1998 rating decision. The VA examiner determined that his current GAF score is 45, indicating severe impairment due to PTSD.

The Board has determined that the veteran did not serve in Vietnam and thus cannot establish service connection for PTSD based on combat exposure. The case is being remanded to determine if other acquired psychiatric disorders are related to service.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection due to lack of new and material evidence, as well as dismissing her claim for entitlement to service connection for the residuals of keloid removal of the earlobes due to a failure to timely file a substantive appeal.

The Board has reopened the veteran's claim of service connection for a psychiatric disorder, other than PTSD. However, due to the presence of PTSD, the issue of service connection is considered in conjunction with this appeal. Further development is needed to verify the veteran's reported in-service burn injury and assess its relationship to his current psychiatric disability.

The Board has determined that the veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, diagnosed as schizophrenia, was incurred during service and is not due to any pre-existing condition. The claim for service connection is therefore granted.

The Board has determined that an effective date of October 8, 1996 is warranted for the assignment of a 100 percent evaluation for schizophrenic reaction, paranoid type, with post-traumatic stress disorder.

The Board has reopened the veteran's claim of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder due to new and material evidence. However, the effective date request is denied as it does not address the merits of the service connection issue.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for a psychiatric disorder, finding that it did not manifest during his active duty for training and thus could not be presumed to have been incurred therein. The appeal was dismissed.

The veteran's schizophrenia, undifferentiated type, is rated at 100 percent due to total occupational and social impairment. As a result of this rating, the claim for a total rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities is dismissed as moot.

The veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) is denied as his service-connected conditions do not prevent him from performing the physical and mental acts required for gainful employment.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been received to reopen the veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for schizophrenia. The appeal is granted to this extent, subject to directions set forth in the remand section.

The veteran's nonservice-connected disabilities, including a psychiatric disorder, low back disorder, neck disorder, gastrointestinal disorder, and right shoulder disorder, do not meet the criteria for a permanent and total disability rating for pension purposes.