Acquired psychiatric disorder decisions — 2016

The Board has determined that the Veteran's symptoms meet the criteria for service connection of PTSD, and thus grants this claim.

The Veteran's request for a hearing before the Board has been granted, and he is scheduled for a travel board hearing. The case will be remanded to the AOJ for further development.

The Veteran seeks service connection for hypertension, which he claims is secondary to his service-connected Type II diabetes mellitus type II and/or acquired psychiatric disorder. The Board has remanded the case due to lack of substantial compliance with previous directives.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for sinusitis, chronic sinusitis, and eye disability (including glaucoma) have been denied as there is no evidence of their onset or etiology in service. The Board finds that the lack of post-service evidence showing symptoms until nearly three decades after discharge from service tends to show these conditions did not have their onset in service or for years thereafter.

The Veteran's claim for special monthly compensation (SMC) at the housebound rate or based on aid and attendance is being remanded due to need for clarification of his cognitive disorder and relationship to service-connected schizophrenia, as well as a new VA examination.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claims for service connection for a right ankle disability and an acquired psychiatric disorder, finding new and material evidence. The Veteran's right ankle disability is now considered incurred in service, while her claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder remains pending due to the submission of new stressor allegations.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current psychiatric disability, including PTSD and an acquired psychiatric disorder, is linked to in-service personal assault. Therefore, service connection for these conditions is granted.

The Board has reopened the claim of service connection for a psychiatric disorder and granted it. The bilateral little toe disability is denied, and the schizophrenia disorder is found to have been incurred during active service.,Service connection for a right leg disability remains pending.

The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral shoulder disability did not have its onset in service and was not caused or aggravated by his active military service. The claim for acquired psychiatric disability (to include depression) is also denied.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's previously denied claims for service connection for acquired psychiatric disorder, right hand disorder, bilateral eye disorder, and lumbosacral strain with muscle spasms of lumbar area. The evidence submitted since the last final denial relates to an unestablished fact (medical nexus between current diagnosed disorders and service) necessary to substantiate these claims.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD, is being remanded due to the need to verify his claimed stressors and obtain a VA examination.

The Veteran's service-connected paranoid schizophrenia rendered her unable to secure and follow substantially gainful employment from August 15, 2007 to March 23, 2015.

The Board has determined that the Veteran is not entitled to service connection for hypertension or PTSD. The evidence does not establish a medical nexus between the Veteran's current conditions and his documented in-service incurrences, nor does it indicate that he developed these conditions within one year after leaving the service.

The Board found that the evidence received since the March 2006 rating decision does not relate to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claim of service connection for a psychiatric disability, and thus is not new and material. As such, the claim may not be reopened.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's low back, left knee, and right knee disabilities are not service-connected. The acquired psychiatric disability (including PTSD and Major Depressive Disorder) is also denied as there is no evidence of a nexus to service.

The Veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and a personality disorder, has been reopened. The evidence received since the final October 2003 Board decision is new and material, raising a reasonable possibility of substantiating his claim.

The Board is remanding the case for a new VA examination to determine the nature and likely etiology of all psychiatric disabilities, including those related to active service. The examiner should also provide opinions regarding whether any pre-existing conditions were aggravated by service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current psychiatric disorder, including PTSD. Therefore, service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD, is denied.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's PTSD is medically linked to a verified stressor during active military service, and therefore grants service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder (PTSD). The right ear hearing loss claim will be remanded for further development.

The Board has granted the Veteran's petition to reopen his claim for service connection for PTSD and remanded the issues of hearing loss, tinnitus, and an acquired psychiatric disorder (to include PTSD) for further development.