Acquired psychiatric disorder decisions — 2007

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining medical records and verifying in-service stressors. The veteran is also to be examined by a VA psychiatrist to determine if PTSD was incurred during service and whether any current psychiatric disability had its onset during service or is otherwise related to service. A VA examination is also needed to determine if porphyria cutanea tarda and peripheral neuropathy are related to service.

The Board found that the submitted evidence does not raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, and thus denied the reopening of the claim.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to inadequate VCAA notice and new requirements established in Kent v. Nicholson, 20 Vet. App. 1 (2006), and Dingess/Hartman v. Nicholson, 19 Vet. App. 473 (2006).

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for a psychiatric disorder, bilateral hearing loss, and cardiovascular condition due to lack of new and material evidence for the psychiatric claim, absence of evidence linking these conditions to service, and no evidence showing that the cardiovascular condition is related to service.

The Board found no clear and unmistakable error in the April 1977 rating decision that denied service connection for psychoneurosis, but determined new and material evidence had been submitted to reopen the claim of service connection for schizophrenia.

The Board has ordered a remand for additional development of the veteran's psychiatric disability claim, including obtaining medical records and scheduling an examination to determine the nature, extent, and etiology of her current psychiatric disorder.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining SSA records and issuing a supplemental statement of the case (SOC) for certain issues.

The Board has determined that the veteran's psychiatric disability was not present in service or within one year of his discharge, and it is not etiologically related to service. Therefore, the claim for service connection for psychiatric disability is denied.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and failed to reopen his service connection claims. The veteran was not provided with proper VCAA notice.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including a right shoulder condition, acquired psychiatric disorders, bilateral bone spurs in heels, arthritis, and elbow/knee/neck conditions. The decision is based on the absence of evidence showing these conditions were incurred or aggravated by military service.

The veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling a VA psychiatric examination to assess the severity of his service-connected schizophrenia.

The Board has determined that the veteran's psychiatric disorder is not related to military service or a service-connected disability, and thus denied his claim for service connection.

The Board denied a request for an earlier effective date of July 5, 1995, for service connection of an acquired mental disorder. The veteran's claim was initially denied in March 1974 due to the unavailability of his service medical records. He did not appeal this decision and it became final.

The Board has determined that the veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder is related to his active service and grants service connection for this condition.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, finding that there was no evidence to support a current diagnosis of PTSD and noting that his personality disorder is not recognized as a disability for VA compensation purposes.

The Board found that the veteran's current psychiatric disorder did not become manifest or originate during his period of service, and therefore denied his claim for service connection.

The Board has remanded the case for several procedural issues, including contacting the veteran's brother and providing VCAA compliant notice regarding service connection for paranoid schizophrenia.

The veteran's claim for an increased evaluation of his service-connected paranoid schizophrenia from August 1, 2000 to September 24, 2005 was denied. The RO has already granted a 100% rating effective September 25, 2005.

The Board granted service connection for a psychiatric disability and assigned an initial rating of 10 percent effective August 30, 2002. The veteran's psychiatric disability was increased to 30 percent effective April 11, 2001.

The Board has determined that the preponderance of the evidence is against the claim for service connection for schizophrenia, as there is no competent evidence linking the disorder to military service.