Acquired psychiatric disorder decisions — 2010

The Board has determined that the Veteran's PTSD is service-connected, and it also finds that he may have an acquired psychiatric disorder other than PTSD. The claim for a separate psychiatric disorder will be remanded to further develop the evidence.

The Board found that the appellant's psychiatric, low back, and headache disabilities were not incurred in service or related to his active duty. The claims for these conditions are therefore denied.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD, is being remanded due to the need for additional development and examination.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including PTSD and depression, due to a lack of credible evidence supporting the claimed stressors and insufficient medical evidence linking these conditions to service.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been received to reopen the claim of service connection for a psychiatric disorder, which was previously denied in February 1998. The Veteran's current diagnosis of chronic paranoid schizophrenia is being considered.

The Board has ordered a remand to obtain an addendum from the VA examiner regarding the cause of the Veteran's anxiety and whether it is likely related to service. The Veteran will be asked to provide any additional evidence, such as medical records or statements from friends and family.

The Veteran's appeal is denied as the Board finds that there is no evidence of service connection for chronic fatigue syndrome, hypothyroidism, or an acquired psychiatric disability (including depression) due to an undiagnosed illness. The Veteran's PTSD has been rated based on its current manifestations.

The Board has remanded the case for further development and readjudication due to incomplete medical records, lack of consideration of the Veteran's medical history in previous examinations, and issues related to service connection.

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

The Board denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder other than PTSD, finding that the Veteran's claimed inservice stressful events were not verified and his diagnosed PTSD was not related to his military service.

The Board has granted service connection for acquired psychiatric disability (schizophrenia), tardive dyskinesia, and low back disability. The acquired psychiatric disability is found to have its onset in service, while the tardive dyskinesia is proximately due to his service-connected schizophrenia. The low back disability was not incurred or aggravated by active service.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, is being remanded due to the need for additional development related to personal assault stressors.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a pelvic disorder and an acquired psychiatric disorder other than PTSD (which was recharacterized as depression with anxiety) has been denied. The Board found no current disability of the pelvis, and the VA examiner concluded that any psychiatric disorders were not related to service.

The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for paranoid schizophrenia with cognitive disorder is dismissed as it is a free-standing earlier effective date claim and not based on CUE in the August 2002 rating decision.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, finding that none of these disabilities were incurred or aggravated by active service.

The Board found that there is no current disability of the right ankle and denied service connection for a broken right ankle. The claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder was not addressed due to the overlap with PTSD, but the Veteran's complete service personnel file should be obtained and he should undergo a VA examination to determine if his claimed psychiatric condition is related to military service.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development, including obtaining a VA examination to address the nature and etiology of his bilateral hearing loss and psychiatric disability claims. The RO/AMC will also attempt to verify any in-service stressors reported by the Veteran.

The Veteran seeks service connection for a neuropsychiatric condition, including schizophrenia. The Board is remanding the case to obtain additional medical records and conduct a VA examination.

The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate development of evidence regarding the claimant's mental state at the time he committed offenses leading to his discharge from service. The claim will be reconsidered based on this new information.

The Board has remanded the case due to the need for additional development, including obtaining Social Security Administration records and a VA examination.