Acquired psychiatric disorder decisions — 2015

The Veteran's unauthorized medical expenses incurred from July 25, 2013 to September 10, 2013 are barred as a matter of law due to the nature of his treatment and custody by local/state officials. VA is unable to pay for or reimburse these expenses.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development due to an inadequate VA examination in October 2012. The Veteran is seeking service connection for a psychiatric disorder other than PTSD.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's schizophrenia is related to his active duty service and grants the claim for service connection.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records and scheduling a VA examination to determine if any currently diagnosed psychiatric disorders are etiologically related to service.

The Board has remanded the claims for a psychiatric disability and SMP benefits due to incomplete examination reports, lack of rationale in opinions, and need for further development. The TBI claim is also being remanded.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including psychiatric disorders, hypertension, tinnitus, cervical spine disability, lumbar spine disability, left hip disability, right knee and left knee disabilities, right ankle and left ankle disabilities, left heel disability, and left shoulder disability were denied as the evidence did not support a nexus to service.

The Board finds that the Veteran's current psychiatric disabilities, including bipolar affective disorder, anxiety disorder, psychosis NOS, and schizophrenia, are related to his active service.

The Veteran's claim of service connection for PTSD is granted. The Board finds that the Veteran has a verified in-service stressor and meets the diagnostic criteria for PTSD. Service connection is also granted for an acquired psychiatric disorder other than PTSD, but only to the extent it is related to his now service-connected PTSD.

The Veteran's claim for PTSD was denied due to lack of a diagnosis meeting DSM criteria.,Claims for joint pain and an acquired psychiatric disorder were previously denied, but new evidence has not been submitted that would reopen these claims.

The Board has reopened the claims of entitlement to service connection for a right shoulder disability, left wrist disability, upper back disability, mid-to-low-back disability, right knee disability, left knee disability, right ankle disability, and PTSD. The Veteran's reports of inservice acoustic trauma are accepted as credible evidence of an in-service event. Service connection is granted.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's PTSD is not service-connected due to lack of credible supporting evidence for his claimed stressors. The claim for an acquired psychiatric disability other than PTSD remains pending.

The Veteran's claim for an initial, compensable rating for scars was not addressed as the issue is unclear.,The Veteran's hypertension secondary to prostate cancer has been granted service connection.

The Veteran's tinnitus was found to be incurred in service, while his bilateral hearing loss and acquired psychiatric disorder were not related to service.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to scheduling issues for a hearing before the Board. The Veteran's claims for service connection remain under review.

The Board is unable to definitively determine whether the Veteran's current acquired psychiatric disorder is related to his service, as there are conflicting opinions regarding its onset and relationship to in-service head injury. The case will be remanded for further clarification.

The Veteran's tinnitus is rated at the maximum schedular rating, and his bilateral hearing loss disability does not meet the criteria for a compensable evaluation. The acquired psychiatric disorder has been found to warrant a 30 percent rating, but no higher. The claim for TDIU is granted.

The Veteran's claims for service connection have been granted, with the exception of his claim for hyperlipidemia. The remaining conditions include an acquired psychiatric disorder (PTSD and anxiety disorders), bilateral knee osteoarthritis, hearing loss of the left ear, sleep apnea, hypertension, a low back disorder, bilateral hip osteoarthritis, tinnitus of the right ear, folliculitis, resection of left eye pterygium with residual faint nasal conjunctival scar, recurrent nasal pterygium of the right eye, and TDIU. The Veteran's hyperlipidemia claim is pending.

The Board found that the Veteran did not have an in-service psychiatric injury or disease and denied his claim for service connection.

The Veteran's schizophrenia with depressive symptoms resulted in occupational and social impairment, but not to the extent that it caused total occupational and social impairment. The disability was rated at a 50 percent level for the period from October 23, 1996 to November 27, 2006.

The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, manifested by occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity due to symptoms such as irritability, anger problems, near-continuous depression, and periods of confusion difficulty concentrating due to flashbacks and avoidance behaviors, has been granted a 50 percent evaluation.