Acquired psychiatric disorder decisions — 2012

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current major depressive disorder is not related to his period of active military service and therefore denied entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder other than posttraumatic stress disorder and paranoid-type schizophrenia.

The Veteran's petition to reopen the claim for service connection for a right eye disability was granted, and he is now entitled to service connection for this condition.,The Veteran's petition to reopen the claim for service connection for hypertension was granted, and he is now entitled to service connection for this condition based on evidence linking it to Agent Orange exposure or as secondary to other conditions.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claims of service connection for hypertension, low energy and fatigue, peripheral neuropathy of the upper extremities, bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, erectile dysfunction, and psychiatric disability. These conditions are found to be secondary to his service-connected diabetes mellitus.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD was denied. However, the Board granted service connection for paranoid schizophrenia, finding that the evidence supported a finding of continuity of symptomatology since military discharge.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to the RO due to scheduling issues for a video-conference hearing. The claims for service connection on various conditions are pending.

The Board has dismissed the Veteran's appeals for service connection for hypertension and diabetes mellitus due to his request for withdrawal of these claims prior to a decision.

The Board finds that the Veteran's psychiatric disability and left knee disability are related to service, granting service connection for both conditions.

The Veteran is not competent to handle disbursement of his VA funds due to his mental condition, specifically paranoid schizophrenia.

The Board found that the Veteran's prostate disability, psychiatric disability, and hypertension are related to service. Service connection is granted for these conditions.

The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate development and need for additional medical opinions. The Veteran's claim of secondary service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder is on appeal.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for an increased rating for hypertension and service connection for acquired psychiatric disorder and low back disability, finding that new and material evidence had not been submitted to reopen these claims.

The Board has remanded the case for further development due to unavailability of records and other procedural issues.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for an earlier effective date for service connection and recognition of his son as a helpless child. The Veteran's petition to reopen his claim was received on January 10, 2003, which is considered the earliest possible effective date.

The Veteran's PTSD was found to be incurred in active service, and he is granted service connection for this condition. The Board also finds that the Veteran has a current skin disorder related to his in-service rashes, as well as an enlarged prostate gland related to his in-service problems with urination.

The Veteran's claims for service connection and increased ratings were denied. The effective date of the grant of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder was changed to October 12, 2007.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including a VA examination and consideration of additional medical evidence. The Veteran's claims for service connection for a lumbar spine disability and an increased rating for her psychiatric disability are pending.

The Board granted nonservice-connected pension benefits, effective September 30, 2008. The Veteran's claim was reopened based on the submission of new and material evidence in August 2005.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including examinations to determine the nature and etiology of any current psychiatric disorders and TB. The Veteran's claims will be readjudicated after the additional development is completed.

The Board has determined that there is no competent evidence linking the Veteran's current acquired psychiatric disorder to his active service, and thus denied the claim.

The Veteran's claims for service connection related to his Afghanistan deployment have been granted, with the diagnosis of PTSD based on fear of hostile military or terrorist activity. The conditions are presumed due to exposure in a war zone.