Acquired psychiatric disorder decisions — 2010

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's service connection claim for a mental disorder. The case will be reviewed again with consideration of new medical opinions and additional examination.

The Board found that the Veteran's preexisting paranoid schizophrenia was not aggravated by service, and thus denied his claim for service connection.

The Board has remanded the case for further development and consideration of the Veteran's claims, including obtaining additional medical records and determining whether she has any other acquired psychiatric disorders related to service.

The Board has remanded the claim for further development to verify if the Veteran experienced an in-service fall and witnessed a suicide, which may be related to his current psychiatric disabilities.

The Board denied the Veteran's petition to reopen his claim for service connection for a skin disability, as well as his claims for service connection for low back and psychiatric disabilities. The decision also noted that new evidence was not received since the March 2002 denial.

The Board found that the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disability, including schizophrenia, was not incurred in or aggravated by his active duty service.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for further evaluation of his service-connected lumbar spine disability and consideration of his claim for a total rating based on individual unemployability. The issue of an increased evaluation for the Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine disability is inextricably intertwined with the issue of his entitlement to a total rating for compensation purposes.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development to verify stressors and obtain VA treatment records, as well as a psychiatric examination. The Veteran's claim will be reconsidered based on the new evidence.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including verification of in-service stressors and a VA examination to determine the current nature and etiology of any psychiatric disability found to be present during the pendency of the appeal.

The Board has decided to remand the case for further examination and review of evidence, including psychiatric records from service and post-service. The appellant is seeking service connection for an acquired neuropsychiatric disorder other than PTSD.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's right hand disability and acquired psychiatric disability, including depression and anxiety, are not related to his military service or a service-connected condition. As such, these claims have been denied.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to obtain additional service information, medical records, and SSA disability determination. A VA examination will be scheduled for the Veteran to determine if he has a current psychiatric disorder or chronic headache disability related to his military service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have current diagnoses of hemorrhoids, cervical spine disability, left eye disability, or psychiatric disability (including PTSD) related to service. As a result, the claims for these conditions are denied.

The Board determined that the Veteran failed to report for multiple scheduled VA examinations and refused to provide any evidence of a current psychiatric disorder. The evidence does not show that it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran currently has an acquired psychiatric disorder that was demonstrated during his military service.

The Board has determined that additional development is necessary to properly adjudicate the Veteran's claims for service connection, including obtaining SSA records and scheduling a VA examination.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for a psychiatric disorder, peripheral neuropathy of the left leg, and an increased rating for low back disability were pending at the time of his death. The Board found that these claims had been denied prior to his death but remanded them with instructions to consider them under a secondary service connection analysis. As the appellant filed for accrued benefits within one year of the Veteran's death, the claims are considered on their merits.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for hepatitis C and a psychiatric disability (including PTSD, Major Depression, and anxiety) are being remanded due to the need for additional development of the record.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD was denied due to lack of verified stressor event. The claim for an increased rating for his back disability was also denied.

The Board denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder and a respiratory disorder, finding that the Veteran's respiratory disorder did not manifest in service or be related to active duty. The Board also found no evidence of herbicide exposure during service.

The Board granted service connection for a low back disability and assigned a 40 percent rating, effective from April 7, 1995. The Veteran's claims for increased ratings were denied.