Acquired psychiatric disorder decisions — 2007

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been submitted to reopen the claims for service connection for gastrointestinal disability (including duodenal hernia, hiatus hernia, and ulcer) and psychiatric disability (anxiety reaction with functional hypoglycemia). The veteran's pre-existing gastrointestinal disability is presumed to have existed prior to service.

The Board has determined that the veteran's schizophrenia existed prior to service and was aggravated by his military service, warranting a grant of service connection.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development, including obtaining VA and private treatment records, verifying claimed stressors, and scheduling a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of his psychiatric and gastrointestinal disabilities.

The veteran's acquired psychiatric disorders, to include PTSD, were found to be caused by his service and granted service connection.

The Board dismissed the appeal due to the veteran's death.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for a rib injury and an acquired psychiatric disability, as well as his claim for TDIU. The denial of service connection was based on the absence of evidence showing a current disability related to the ribs or any psychiatric condition that could be linked to service.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has not been presented to reopen the veteran's claim for service connection for psychiatric disability.

The Board has reopened the veteran's claim of service connection for schizophrenia but denied the claim on its merits.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for a heart disability and a psychiatric disability as secondary to his heart disability.

The Board found that the veteran did not incur residuals of a claimed head injury, including disabilities of the cervical spine and lumbar spine in service or within the first post-service year. The psychiatric disorder was also not incurred in service and is not proximately due to or the result of a disability incurred in service.

The Board has reopened the claim for service connection for a psychiatric disability and granted it. The claim for service connection for a back disability was denied.

The Board has determined that the veteran's death was not caused by or related to his service-connected paranoid schizophrenia, and thus denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the veteran's death.

The Board has reopened the veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD. The case is being remanded to determine if the veteran engaged in combat and whether his claimed stressors are corroborated.

The veteran's service-connected psychiatric disorder was not properly reduced, and his benefits for this condition are restored. The overpayment of debt resulting from concurrent receipt of Federal Workers Compensation benefits is dismissed due to the failure to timely file a substantive appeal.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including a VA psychiatric examination and additional VCAA notice.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including a new VA mental disorders examination and an addendum to the August 2006 VA examination report. The focus is on whether it is undebatable that the veteran's pre-existing anxiety disorder was not aggravated during active service.

The Board's June 4, 2002 decision granting a 70 percent evaluation for paranoid schizophrenia is being reviewed for CUE. The motion has been withdrawn.

The Board found that the veteran's schizophrenia did not manifest during service and is unrelated to his military service. The claim for service connection was denied.

The Board denied the veteran's claim of service connection for a psychiatric disability, including Valium dependence. The Board found that no chronic acquired psychiatric disorder was present in service and is not etiologically related to service. Additionally, if Valium dependence was present during active duty, it resulted from the veteran's own willful misconduct.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including hemorrhoids, fatigue, dizziness, a kidney disorder, headaches, and a psychiatric disorder due to undiagnosed illness. The evidence did not support a finding of current disabilities or a link between active duty and these conditions.