Acquired psychiatric disorder decisions — 2012

The Board has remanded the issues of entitlement to service connection for a bilateral foot disability and for a psychiatric disability, to include PTSD due to incomplete examination reports and conflicting evidence.

The Board has denied service connection for scoliosis, headaches, and an acquired psychiatric disorder. The Veteran's scoliosis was not incurred or aggravated during service, her headaches were not caused by military service, and there is no evidence linking the current psychiatric condition to service.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining VA treatment records and scheduling a VA mental health examination to clarify the nature of the Veteran's psychiatric disorder and determine its likely etiology.

The Veteran's appeal was denied as his claim for an increased rating for laryngeal cancer residuals and service connection for PTSD and MDD were both found to be without merit. The Veteran's TDIU claim is also denied.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records and scheduling a PTSD examination to determine the adequacy of his stressor allegations and whether any diagnosed psychiatric disorder is related to service.

The Board has determined that further development is needed to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran's psychiatric disorders, including whether they are related to his active service. The examination must assess if PTSD meets the DSM-IV criteria for diagnosis and whether it is at least as likely as not caused by an in-service stressor, such as fear of hostile military or terrorist activity. For any other acquired psychiatric disorder found, the examiner must determine if it began during service.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including a VA examination to assess the Veteran's psychiatric conditions and determine if they are related to service. The issues include service connection for PTSD and other psychiatric disabilities, as well as TDIU.

The Board found that the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder is not caused or aggravated by his service-connected disabilities, and thus denied both claims.

The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and major depressive disorder, is at least partly attributable to unfortunate events that occurred during her military service.

The Veteran's schizophrenia is found to have been caused by the stress of service, specifically basic training, and thus granted as a direct result.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's adjustment disorder with anxiety and depression, claimed as short term memory loss and sleep disturbance, is attributable to service.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for left shoulder, left knee, right knee, hypertension, and an acquired psychiatric disorder. The decision found no new and material evidence to reopen the claim for a left shoulder disability and determined that there was insufficient evidence to establish service connection for any of the other conditions.

The Veteran's appeal seeking a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities (TDIU) has been granted, effective from January 1, 2005. The issue of an earlier effective date for the TDIU rating is being remanded.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for verification of his claimed stressors and a VA examination. The claim will be adjudicated with consideration of the amended regulation regarding circumstances in which lay testimony alone may establish the occurrence of the claimed in-service stressor.

The Veteran's psychiatric symptoms from October 23, 1996 to May 10, 1998 approximated occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity but not occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas.

The Board finds that the appellant's discharge from service under other than honorable conditions was due to willful and persistent misconduct, which constitutes a bar to VA benefits.

The Board has ordered additional development to address the Veteran's claims for service connection and rating of his disabilities, including a psychiatric disorder and a leg disability. The case is now remanded for further examination and opinion.

The Veteran's claims for service connection were denied as the evidence did not support a finding that any of the claimed conditions were incurred or aggravated by active duty.

The Board found that the Veteran does not have a diagnosis of PTSD meeting DSM-IV criteria and denied service connection for PTSD. The claim was reopened based on new evidence, but service connection remains denied.

The Board has ordered the case to be remanded for additional development due to a need for translation of documents and medical opinions regarding the Veteran's claimed conditions.