Acquired psychiatric disorder decisions — 2018

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims of service connection for left knee disability, left ankle disability, and acquired psychiatric disorder due to additional development being required.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims of service connection for left knee disability, left ankle disability, and acquired psychiatric disorder due to additional development being required.

The Veteran's claims for service connection have been reopened, but the Board is remanding them due to additional evidence that needs to be reviewed by the AOJ.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and an acquired psychiatric disorder (including PTSD, anxiety, depression) due to lack of evidence showing a direct relationship between these conditions and his military service.

The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder and sleep apnea due to new evidence submitted by the Veteran. The case is now pending further development.

The Veteran's death is being remanded due to the need for a VA medical opinion regarding whether his cause of death was related to his service-connected acquired psychiatric disorder. Additionally, the initial disability rating issue is also being remanded.

The Board has received additional relevant evidence and is remanding the cases for readjudication.

The Veteran's claim to reopen his previously denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability was granted by the Board in December 2013, but the effective date of this grant is being challenged. The Board found that new evidence (a private medical opinion) supported reopening the claim and granting service connection, but did not find these records relevant to the initial denial.

The Board denied service connection for osteoarthritis of the right shoulder, status post arthroplasty and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to lack of evidence establishing a direct relationship between these conditions and service.

The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for vitiligo and an acquired psychiatric disorder (including PTSD) due to incomplete records and lack of medical opinions. The Veteran must be scheduled for VA examinations to determine if his conditions are related to military service.

The Board has reopened the claim and found new evidence sufficient to establish a current diagnosis of an acquired psychiatric disorder, but denied service connection due to lack of a current disability.

The Board has remanded the cases for further development and examination due to new evidence suggesting an increase in severity of the Veteran's service-connected residuals of meningococcal meningitis, and because VA treatment records dated since December 2014 have not been obtained.

The Board has dismissed all service connection claims due to the Veteran's death during the appeal process.

The Veteran requested to withdraw his appeals for the claims of service connection for an eye disability, bladder disability, loss of sense of smell, and loss of sense of taste. The Board dismissed these issues as a result.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a left forearm disability and remanded the issue of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder (PTSD, anxiety and depressive disorder).

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of tremors and has denied service connection for this condition. The issues of service connection for cervical spine stenosis, cervical radiculopathy of the bilateral upper extremities, an acquired psychiatric disorder other than depressive disorder (including PTSD and Adjustment Disorder), degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine with bilateral radiculopathy, a disability rating in excess of 20 percent prior to April 28, 2010, and in excess of 40 percent thereafter for degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, a disability rating in excess of 20 percent for lumbar radiculopathy of the left leg, a disability rating in excess of 20 percent for lumbar radiculopathy of the right leg, and an initial disability rating in excess of 70 percent for depressive disorder are all remanded due to incomplete or unclear evidence.

The Board has reopened the claim of service connection for a right hip disability and granted a 30 percent rating for allergic rhinitis with hypertrophic turbinates. The claims for service connection for left hip disability, acquired psychiatric disorder (PTSD and depression), osteoarthritis and limitation of flexion of the right knee, osteoarthritis and limitation of motion of the left knee, and intervertebral disc syndrome of the lumbar spine are all remanded.

The Board has granted service connection for schizophrenia and set an effective date of May 2, 1997.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to properly adjudicate the claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD. The Veteran's private records and lay statements indicate a current diagnosis of PTSD, but prior examination was conducted using DSM-IV criteria.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for various conditions, including hepatitis C and its secondary effects. The rating for hemorrhoids was also denied.