Acquired psychiatric disorder decisions — 2007

The Board found that the veteran's schizophrenia is not related to his period of active military service and denied the claim.

The Board denied the veteran's claims of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, and tinnitus. The reasons include uncorroborated stressor accounts, lack of evidence linking current conditions to service, and negative clinical records.

The Board denied the reopening of the claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, not to include PTSD due to lack of new and material evidence.

The Board found that new and material evidence had not been submitted to reopen the claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, originally claimed as a nervous condition. The veteran's service records showed no established diagnosis of a psychiatric disorder during his active duty.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claim for an effective date prior to 13 February 1997 for the grant of service connection for schizophrenia is without legal merit and thus denied.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for a low back disability and a psychiatric disability, finding no current disabilities exist that are related to service.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for paranoid schizophrenia and glaucoma of the right eye, finding that new and material evidence had not been presented to reopen his previously denied claim for paranoid schizophrenia. The glaucoma claim was also denied.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder and a compensable disability rating for bilateral pes planus. The denial of service connection is based on lack of evidence in the service medical records indicating an in-service occurrence or aggravation of such condition. For the bilateral pes planus claim, the Board found that the current severity does not warrant a higher than noncompensable rating.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining VA examinations and addressing service connection claims.

The Board found that the veteran's variously diagnosed psychiatric disorder was not incurred or aggravated by service, including his use of Accutane during service. The claim for service connection is denied.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection of a back condition, an increased rating for his schizophrenia, and TDIU. The evidence did not establish that any current disability is related to military service.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder (variously identified as schizophrenia and depression) due to his service-connected acne keloids, finding that there was no evidence linking these conditions.

The Board denied reopening the veteran's service connection claim for schizophrenia in February 2000. New evidence received since then raises a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim, and the Board has reopened it. The Board also found that schizophrenia was incurred in service. For bilateral pes planus, the disability is currently rated at 30 percent.

The Board denied service connection for a sinus disability and paranoid schizophrenia, finding that the conditions did not meet the criteria for direct service connection due to lack of evidence showing they were incurred or aggravated during active duty.

The Board found that the evidence does not support a finding of service connection for COPD or an acquired psychiatric disorder. The appellant's current conditions were not shown to be related to his military service.

The VA determined that the veteran's claimed PTSD was not incurred in or aggravated by active service, as he did not have a verified stressor from service and was not found to be in combat. The claim for service connection for PTSD is denied.

The Board found that the veteran did not meet the criteria for service connection for psychiatric disorders other than PTSD, hypothyroidism, and diabetes mellitus due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to her military service. The veteran's current diagnoses were not related to her time in the military.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for paranoid schizophrenia and did not address his left leg injury claim. The Board found no evidence of a current disability related to service, including the lightning strike incident in Japan.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for an increased rating for diabetes mellitus and service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder (claimed as anxiety neurosis). The evidence did not support a higher rating for diabetes, and there was no clear evidence of a link between the veteran's current psychiatric condition and his military service.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, COPD, and bilateral hallux valgus with bunions. The evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were related to service or service-connected disabilities.