Acquired psychiatric disorder decisions — 2011

The Board denied service connection for any acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD. The Veteran's claim was not reopened.,The Board denied service connection for residuals of a neck injury and back disability. The Veteran's claims were not reopened.

The Veteran's right knee disability, including arthritis, was not incurred in service and is denied. The left knee disability, also including arthritis, was also not incurred in service and is denied.,Service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability has been established.

The Board has determined that further development of the evidence is required before the claims can be adjudicated. The appeal is REMANDED to the RO via the Appeals Management Center (AMC), in Washington, DC.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including stressor verification and psychiatric treatment records. The Veteran's claim will be reconsidered based on the additional evidence.

The Veteran's left ear hearing loss was not incurred in or aggravated by service, nor may it be presumed to have been incurred in service.

The Veteran's appeal was dismissed due to his death, and the Board has no jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of this claim.

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

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining VA and private medical records, scheduling a VA examination to address all theories of entitlement, and readjudicating the claim.

The Board has granted the appellant's claim of entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD. The evidence is in equipoise as to whether the appellant has a confirmed medical diagnosis of PTSD related to his period of detention during active service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's cause of death, respiratory arrest due to encephalitis and pneumonia, is related to his service-connected chronic, undifferentiated schizophrenic reaction. The Board finds an approximate balance of evidence in favor of the appellant's claim for service connection.

The Veteran's schizophrenic reaction has been rated at 100 percent since June 14, 2004, due to total occupational and social impairment caused by symptoms such as gross impairment in thought processes or communication, persistent delusions or hallucinations, grossly inappropriate behavior, a persistent danger of hurting himself, intermittent inability to perform activities of daily living, disorientation to time or place, and memory loss.

Service connection for alcoholism, glaucoma, acquired psychiatric disorder (anxiety and depression), amoebic dysentery, cockroach bite, cyst on the buttock, and residual sebaceous cyst scar of shoulder is denied.,There is no evidence linking any of these conditions to service or any presumptive exposure.

The Board finds that the Veteran did not experience the attacks he described to the VA psychiatrist and upon which the psychiatrist's diagnosis of PTSD relied. Therefore, entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder to include PTSD is denied.

The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, diagnosed as recurrent depressive disorder and anxiety disorder, is established due to a current diagnosis linked to her military service.

The Board found that the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of PTSD or any other acquired psychiatric disability related to service, and thus denied his claim for service connection.

The Board has remanded the case due to scheduling issues for a hearing before a Veterans Law Judge.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a neck/upper back disability, migraine headaches, or right lung disorder due to service. Service connection is granted for major depressive disorder.

The Board is remanding the case to conduct additional development regarding the Veteran's claimed in-service stressors and to consider whether service connection for PTSD can be established based on fear of hostile military or terrorist activity. The substance abuse claim will also be deferred until further adjudication of the PTSD claim.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, is related to his military service and fatigue is a symptom of his already service-connected fibromyalgia.

The Board has remanded the case for further development to obtain additional medical records and to attempt to corroborate the Veteran's claimed in-service stressors. The claims will be readjudicated based on the new evidence.