Acquired psychiatric disorder decisions — 2013

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining medical records and considering new evidence submitted by the Veteran. The appeal is now pending before the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining service personnel records and a new examination to determine if the Veteran's schizophrenia had its onset during service or is otherwise etiologically related to an event or injury in service.

The Board has determined that there is no evidence of a lower back disability or psychiatric disorders during service, and the medical evidence does not establish a link between any current disabilities and military service.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, to include PTSD, is being remanded due to the need for additional medical examination and development of VA treatment records.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to obtain additional medical opinions regarding his claimed psychiatric and sleep disorders, as well as to ensure all necessary development has been completed.

The Veteran's appeals for hypertension, sleep apnea, and skin disorder have been withdrawn. The remaining claims of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder (to include depression and PTSD), pancreatitis, and diabetes mellitus are remanded.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, diabetes mellitus, and a heart condition have been denied as there is no evidence of in-service disease or injury that would support these conditions. The Board finds the presumption of herbicide exposure does not apply to this case.

The Board has determined that the Veteran should be afforded another VA examination to determine if he currently has a psychiatric disability and whether it is related to his military service. The claim for tinnitus remains denied as there is no evidence of current tinnitus during the pendency of the claim.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD and tinnitus, finding that these conditions are related to his military service. The other issues regarding secondary service connection have been remanded.

The Board found that the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disability did not manifest in service and was not related to any in-service event, injury, or disease. As a result, the claim for service connection was denied.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including posttraumatic stress disorder, has been reopened. The Board also remanded the issues of bilateral hearing loss and chronic tinnitus for additional development.

The Veteran's claims for PTSD, drug dependency, gastrointestinal disability, hypertension, and an acquired psychiatric disability (excluding PTSD) have been denied. The Veteran's drug dependency is not service-connected as it was the result of willful misconduct.

The Board denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, finding that the Veteran did not provide credible evidence of a personal assault in service and thus could not establish a stressor. The diagnosis of current psychiatric disorders was post-service.

The Board finds that the Veteran does not have a diagnosis of PTSD based on service, and his psychiatric disability is not otherwise related to service. Therefore, service connection for a psychiatric disability, including PTSD, is denied.

The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder is found to be related to his service, and the claim for service connection is granted.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining additional private treatment records and providing an opinion on the etiology of the Veteran's psychiatric disability.

The Veteran's claims for service connection were denied as there was no evidence of a current disability, and the Board found that none of his claimed conditions are related to active service.

The Board has remanded the case due to the need for additional development, including obtaining VA and Department of Corrections treatment records, scheduling a VA examination, and determining whether it is at least as likely as not that any psychiatric disability found to be present is related to or had its onset in service.

The Board has remanded the case to obtain additional psychiatric treatment records, particularly those related to suicide attempts in the 1970s and 1980s. The Veteran is asked to provide information identifying these records and necessary releases for VA to secure them.

The Veteran's claims for service connection have been denied as she failed to report for scheduled VA examinations, which were required to properly adjudicate her claims.