Acquired psychiatric disorder decisions — 2007

The Board has remanded the case for further development and consideration, including a VA psychiatric examination to determine if there is a medical nexus between the veteran's inservice head injury and his acquired psychiatric disorder.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for herpes zoster of the right wrist, pelvic inflammatory disease, and schizophrenia due to new evidence not being received since the last final denial.

The Board has determined that the evidence received since the October 1991 denial is not new and material, thus denying the veteran's request to reopen his claim for service connection for a psychiatric disorder.

The veteran's claim for an extension of the temporary total disability rating beyond February 29, 2004 was denied as there is no provision in the regulations allowing such a period beyond one year following treatment.,The veteran's claim for increased evaluation for residuals of right TKA was also denied as his condition had improved and did not require convalescence beyond the initial one-year period.

The veteran's appeal was denied because his substantive appeal, received on June 4, 2004, was not filed within the required time frame.

The Board denied the veteran's petition to reopen his claim for service connection for a psychiatric disorder, finding that the new evidence did not raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim.

The Board found that the veteran's daughter was not permanently incapable of self-support prior to turning 18 years old, based on her mental health condition and lack of medical records supporting such incapacity before age 18.

The veteran's claim for service connection for a psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD, is being remanded due to the need for additional development and notification.

The Board has determined that the reduction of the veteran's schizophrenia rating from 100% to 50% effective March 1, 1991 was proper based on evidence showing sustained improvement in his condition.

The Board has determined that the veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, claimed as depression, is not related to his active duty service and denied his claim for service connection.

The case is being remanded for additional examinations and opinions to address the veteran's claims.

The Board denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability and a claim for an increased rating for the veteran's burn scar of the left upper arm. The veteran was not granted service connection as his current psychiatric condition is not proximately due to or aggravated by his service-connected burn scar. For the burn scar, the Board found that it did not meet the criteria for an evaluation in excess of 20 percent.

The Board has determined that further development is needed to address the veteran's claims for service connection for a psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, and bilateral hearing loss. The case is being REMANDED to the RO via the Appeals Management Center (AMC) in Washington, D.C.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining missing service medical records and VA treatment records. The veteran's claims are related to his diabetes mellitus, PTSD, and pancreatic cancer.

The veteran's major depression is associated with his service-connected PTSD, and there is no evidence of a separate disability. The veteran's polyarthralgias are not shown to be related to Persian Gulf service or any other basis for service connection.

The veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD is being remanded due to the need for additional development, including verification of stressors and obtaining private medical records.

The Board has remanded the case for further consideration, including a determination on service connection for OCD and an increased rating for right hand disability.

The veteran's claim for service connection for hepatitis C was denied. However, his claim for an initial compensable evaluation for residuals of a postoperative left inguinal hernia was granted with a 10% disability rating.

The veteran's claims for increased evaluation of tinnitus, service connection for mental disorder, vertigo, and allergic rhinitis were all denied. The RO found that the maximum schedular rating for bilateral tinnitus had been assigned, and there was no evidence linking any current disabilities to service or service-connected conditions.

The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete medical records and a need for further examination. The veteran's claim for service connection for paranoid schizophrenia and depression is pending.