Acquired psychiatric disorder decisions — 2020

The appeal to reopen a claim for service connection for PTSD is granted. Entitlement to service connection for bilateral tinnitus and hypertension is granted, while entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss and an acquired psychiatric disorder (claimed as schizophrenia or depression) is remanded.

The Veteran's petition to reopen service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder other than PTSD was granted. Service connection for PTSD was denied.,A rating of 50 percent for chronic headaches was granted.

The Board denied service connection for lumbar spine, cervical spine, degenerative bone disease, numbness of the legs, and acquired psychiatric disabilities. The VA examiner found no evidence linking these conditions to service.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the etiology of the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder. The VA examiner needs to provide a more detailed opinion on whether the condition is related to service, caused by or aggravated by his service-connected disabilities.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's appeal due to incomplete VA examinations. The appeals for initial ratings of more than 10 percent for his knee and back disorders, as well as PTSD with depression, are now pending.

The Board dismissed the claims for service connection due to the appellant's death.

The Veteran's service connection claims for low back disability, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, asthma, diabetes mellitus, right knee disability, and acquired psychiatric disability are remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claims for service connection for hypertension, a skin disability manifested by multiple lipomas (now claimed as soft tissue sarcoma), and an acquired psychiatric disorder (generalized anxiety disorder, now claimed as PTSD). However, these claims are still pending because the RO needs to obtain updated VA treatment records and provide a VA examination to determine if there is a causal relationship between the Veteran's current conditions and his in-service herbicide exposure.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding whether the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder is secondary to his service-connected pes planus with plantar fasciitis. Additional medical opinions are needed and relevant private treatment records must be obtained.

The Board has remanded several issues related to the Veteran's service connection claims, including those for a bilateral eye disorder, bilateral shoulder disorder, acquired psychiatric disorder (PTSD), speech disorder, and right leg disorder. The effective dates are not specified in this decision.

The Veteran's service connection claims for bilateral hearing loss, anxiety (acquired psychiatric disorder), right shoulder disorder, left shoulder disorder, right elbow disorder, back disorder, left knee disorder, right knee disorder, tinnitus, and headache disorder have all been denied. The evidence does not support a finding of current disabilities or a link to active duty service.,The Veteran's claims for bilateral hearing loss, anxiety (acquired psychiatric disorder), right shoulder disorder, left shoulder disorder, right elbow disorder, back disorder, left knee disorder, right knee disorder, tinnitus, and headache disorder are all denied. The evidence does not show current disabilities or a link to active duty service.

Service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, headaches, left knee disability, right foot gout, and right shoulder disability has been granted.,The Veteran's claims for service connection for a right shoulder disability have been reopened due to the submission of new evidence.

The Board has reopened the claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder and a heart condition, but further development is needed as the Veteran has not been provided with a VA examination to evaluate these conditions.

The Veteran's appeals for service connection were denied for hearing loss, PTSD, and hypertension. The appeal seeking to reopen a claim of entitlement to service connection for schizophrenia was granted.

The Board has remanded several issues related to the Veteran's service connection claims, including back disability, radiculopathy of the lower extremities, pes planus, right and left ankle disabilities, sinusitis, asthma, and an acquired psychiatric disability. The remand requires obtaining additional medical records and opinions regarding these conditions.

The Board denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, and unspecified depressive disorder and mild neurocognitive disorder due to lack of a current diagnosis of PTSD in accordance with DSM-5 criteria. The Veteran's other psychiatric conditions are not related to his military service.

The Board has decided that the Veteran's service connection claims for residuals of traumatic brain injury and an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD and GMC, are remanded due to insufficient evidence. The case will be reviewed again with additional medical examination.

The claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, is granted. The case is remanded to obtain a medical opinion regarding the nature and etiology of any diagnosed condition.

The Veteran's appeal seeking to reopen a previously denied claim of entitlement to service connection for a back condition, and his appeals for service connection for a cervical spine disability, increased ratings for PFB and right hand disability have been dismissed.,Service connection for hypertension has been granted.

The Board has ordered a new VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of any currently present acquired psychiatric disability, as the previous opinion was inadequate. The Veteran's lay statements regarding the onset and continuity of his symptoms were not adequately addressed by the examiner.