Acquired psychiatric disorder decisions — 2004

The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete information and evidence, including a need for VA to obtain Social Security Administration disability records.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded to the RO for further action, including a clarification of whether he wants a travel Board hearing or videoconference hearing.

The Board has granted service connection for a lumbar spine disorder and an acquired psychiatric disorder as secondary to the veteran's service-connected bilateral shoulder impingement syndrome.

The Board found that the veteran's schizophrenia did not have its onset during service or within one year of discharge, and thus denied his claim for service connection.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining service personnel records and medical evidence. The appellant's claim of entitlement to service connection for psychiatric disability will be reconsidered after all necessary steps are taken.

The veteran is seeking service connection for various conditions, including PTSD, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, coronary artery disease, diabetic retinopathy, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The case is being remanded to obtain additional medical records and verify the veteran's claimed Vietnam-era exposure.

The Board denied the veteran's claims of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and a claimed sleep disorder, as well as his claim for hypertension. The Board found no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.

The Board found that the veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including schizophrenia, did not begin in service and is not related to any events during his military service. As a result, the claim for service connection was denied.

The Board has determined that the veteran's psychiatric disorder is related to his period of military service, and thus grants this claim. The back disorder claim remains denied.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for increased evaluations for his right shoulder and ulnar nerve disabilities, as well as service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder. The case is remanded for further development.

The Board found that the June 1990 and June 1991 decisions denying service connection for a nervous condition (psychiatric disorder) are final. The January 1999 decision finding no new and material evidence to reopen the claim is also final. The veteran's claims of CUE in these decisions were not supported by the required showing.

The Board has ordered additional development to be completed, including obtaining medical records and scheduling VA examinations for the veteran. The claims for a higher rating for schizophrenia and for a permanent and total disability pension rating are being remanded.

The Board has granted service connection for the veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, finding that it is related to military service.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability (claimed as PTSD) and a left knee disorder, finding no evidence of in-service injury or aggravation that would support these claims.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for vocational rehabilitation subsistence allowance due to lack of a service-connected disability, and denied his claim for reopening a psychiatric disability as he did not file a timely substantive appeal.

The veteran's claims for service connection were denied. The appeals for increased ratings were also denied.

The Board found that the evidence did not include an in-service cold injury and no current disability related to any claimed cold injury. Therefore, service connection for residuals of a cold injury was denied.

The veteran's case is being remanded for further development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling a VA examination to determine if his service-connected disabilities have resulted in the loss of use of his lower extremities.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been submitted to reopen the claim of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder. The veteran's claim for a total rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disability is also pending.

The Board has reopened the claim of entitlement to service connection for a chronic acquired psychiatric disorder due to new and material evidence submitted since the last final denial. The issue of service connection for hepatitis C remains pending.