Acquired psychiatric disorder decisions — 2012

The case is being remanded due to the need for additional records from the Bay Pines VA Medical Center, specifically for treatment of psychiatric disorders and eczema since 2005.

The Veteran's major depressive disorder is found to be related to service, and he is granted service connection for this condition. Service connection is also granted for benign prostatic hypertrophy. The Board finds no evidence of a current hearing loss disability in either ear, but grants service connection based on continuity of symptomatology since service.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, specifically PTSD, was denied as there is no credible supporting evidence of in-service stressors and the Veteran's credibility could not be established.

The appeal has been dismissed as the appellant withdrew their appeal prior to a decision being made.

The Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 50 percent for service-connected cephalgia has been denied. The issue of service connection for psychiatric disorder (including dementia and depressive disorder) remains pending.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development of his claims, including obtaining VA and SSA records, arranging for a psychiatric examination to determine the nature and likely etiology of any psychiatric disability other than PTSD, and arranging for an appropriate examination of GERD.

The Board denied the Veteran's application to reopen his claim of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, finding that no new and material evidence had been submitted.

The Board has determined that the Veteran is not competent to handle direct disbursement of VA benefits due to his schizophrenia and cocaine addiction, which cause frequent hospitalizations and a lack of insight into the seriousness of his disability.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development due to incomplete examination reports and issues related to service connection.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and TDIU were denied by the Board. The appeal is being remanded to obtain additional VA and private medical records.

The Veteran's appeal for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) has been denied as he is not shown to be unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment due to his service-connected disabilities.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development due to incomplete service records and a need for further medical examinations. The issues of entitlement to service connection for bilateral stage III endometriosis of the ovaries (polycystic ovarian syndrome) with insulin resistance, and for a psychiatric disability secondary thereto, are now pending.

The Board finds that the appellant does not have a current psychiatric disability, including PTSD, that is causally related to his active service or any incident therein.

The Veteran's PTSD was incurred in active service due to combat-related stressor events, and the Board found that his lay testimony regarding these events is sufficient evidence of their occurrence.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss is being remanded due to incomplete service treatment records. The claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder (PTSD), right arm numbness, left arm numbness, a sleep disorder, and a heart condition are also being remanded as additional development is needed.,The Veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for PTSD has been recharacterized as an acquired psychiatric disorder. The claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, right arm numbness, left arm numbness, a sleep disorder, and a heart condition remain on appeal.

The Board has remanded the case due to outstanding service treatment and personnel records, as well as new VA examinations for the Veteran's claimed disabilities.

The Veteran withdrew from appeal the claims of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder and a low back disability at his hearing before the Board in April 2012.

The Veteran's claim for an initial compensable disability rating for his right foot fracture was denied. The Board found no evidence of moderate residuals to warrant a higher rating, and the Veteran's right foot is currently rated as noncompensable.

The Board found that the Veteran's diagnosed psychiatric disorders did not manifest to a compensable degree within one year of separation from service and were not related to his service.

The Board denied the reopening of a previously denied claim for service connection for a psychiatric disorder, finding that new and material evidence had not been submitted to reopen the claim.