Acquired psychiatric disorder decisions — 2017

The Veteran seeks service connection for a psychiatric disability including schizophrenia, depression, mood disorder, and bipolar disorder. The Board finds that a remand is necessary to obtain updated treatment records and schedule the Veteran for a VA mental health examination to determine the nature, extent, onset, and etiology of his claimed psychiatric disorders.

The Board has granted service connection for a lumbar spine disability, finding that the Veteran's current condition is related to his in-service complaints of back pain. The remaining issues are remanded for further development.

The Board found that the appellant's character of discharge for his period of service from February 1965 to October 1967 was a bar to VA benefits. The claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, is denied as there is no evidence showing the current conditions are related to military service.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a psychiatric disability, to include PTSD, was denied as there is no current diagnosis of such. The claim for bilateral hearing loss did not result in any decision.

The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claim for additional development due to outstanding VA and private treatment records, as well as missing service personnel records. The case will be returned to the Board after all necessary development is completed.

The Veteran is not competent to manage his VA benefits due to recurrent psychiatric decompensation and inability to consistently take antipsychotic medications.

The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder caused occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity, preventing him from securing and maintaining substantially gainful employment throughout the period on appeal. The Board found that he met the schedular rating criteria for TDIU.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, finding that there is no evidence to support a link between his current mental health condition and his active military service or any service-connected disability.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have an acquired psychiatric disability, specifically PTSD, and his hypertension is not service-connected. The Board found no evidence of a current diagnosis within one year of separation from active service.

The Veteran's migraine headaches are attributable to his active service, and the Board finds that he meets the criteria for service connection. The claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder (including PTSD) is remanded for further examination.

The Veteran's psychiatric disability resulted in occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas, including work, family relations, judgment, thinking, and mood. The Board granted a 70 percent rating for the psychiatric disability prior to May 21, 2013.

The Veteran's nonservice-connected right knee disability and psychiatric disorder are considered permanent and total, meeting the criteria for pension benefits.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim for service connection for tinea pedis and granted it. The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disability to include PTSD is also found to be related to his service.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claims for service connection for acquired psychiatric disorder (anxiety disorder), peripheral neuropathy of the right and left upper extremities, and hypertension, all related to his service-connected diabetes mellitus.

The Veteran's petition to reopen his claim of service connection for schizophrenia was granted. However, the Board found that there is no causal relationship between his Parkinson's disease and active service.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a right shoulder disability, bilateral knee disability, and acquired psychiatric disability (other than substance-induced anxiety disorder). The claim for left elbow disability was not reopened. Service connection on direct incurrence basis is legally precluded.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including bilateral hearing loss, ankle disorders, knee disorders, hip disorders, and psychiatric and gastrointestinal issues, were denied as there is no competent evidence of current disabilities or a link to service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's low back disability, diagnosed as multilevel degenerative disc disease (DDD) of the lumbar spine, did not manifest during his active service and is not linked to a disease or injury in service. Therefore, the claim for service connection for this condition was denied.

The Board has remanded the case due to failure of the Veteran to report for a VA examination, and further development is required.

The Board has remanded the claims for further development, including obtaining updated VA and private treatment records, scheduling a psychiatric examination, and verifying herbicide exposure in Thailand.