Acquired psychiatric disorder decisions — 2020

The Board has dismissed the appeals for service connection due to the Veteran's death.

The Board has granted service connection for lower back, right knee, and left knee disabilities as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected bilateral pes planus. Service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder (major depressive disorder) is also granted on a direct basis.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have not rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation, thus his TDIU claim is denied.

The Veteran's claim of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including major depressive disorder, is granted. The request to reopen the issue of entitlement to service connection for a hand condition is remanded.

The Board has remanded the case due to the need for a medical opinion on whether the Veteran's sleep apnea is directly related to service or caused by his service-connected disabilities, including medications used for those disabilities.

The Board has granted service connection for a psychiatric disability, right hand disability, headaches, and sleep apnea. The right hand disability and headaches are remanded for additional development.

The Veteran's claims for nerve damage to the left side of face and eye, color blindness in the left eye, bronchitis, right collarbone condition with nerve damage, hemorrhoids, and acquired psychiatric conditions are being remanded due to incomplete service treatment records.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient compliance with prior remand directives, specifically regarding the examiner's assessment of the Veteran’s in-service psychiatric symptoms and treatment. The Veteran is required to undergo a new examination by an appropriately qualified mental health clinician.

The Veteran's claim for service connection of bipolar disorder, PTSD and paranoid schizophrenia was denied. The effective date is set at August 28, 2007.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder (to include PTSD) and thyroid cancer have been denied. The claim for increased rating of the residuals of surgery of the fifth metatarsal of the left foot has also been denied. The Board has remanded the issues regarding entitlement to service connection for right and left knee disabilities.

The Board granted the Veteran's claim for Total Disability Rating Based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU) due to his service-connected bilateral hip replacements and psychiatric disorder, effective December 20, 2018.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, did not manifest during active duty service and is not otherwise attributable to such service.

The Board dismissed the appeals regarding service connection for dementia, low back disability, an aneurysm, Parkinson's disease, and PTSD. The claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder was granted.

The Board has found that new and relevant evidence was presented to warrant readjudication of the claim for service connection for headaches. The claims for sleep apnea and an acquired psychiatric disorder are also remanded due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors.

The Board has granted service connection for lumbar spine, cervical spine, left shoulder, left knee, right foot disabilities and residuals of traumatic brain injury (TBI) to include acquired psychiatric disorder to include anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder and PTSD. The Veteran's current conditions are believed to be related to in-service injuries during airborne training.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for back, right hip, left hip, acquired psychiatric, headache, and skin disabilities due to a lack of evidence showing that these conditions were incurred in or aggravated by active service.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim to reopen his service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, previously claimed as chronic nervous conditions. The Board found that new and material evidence had been submitted and that the condition is related to active service.

The Board has remanded the case due to inconsistencies in diagnoses and need for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records from 1979.

The Board has determined that the evidence is at least in equipoise as to whether the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder and migraine headaches are related to his military service, particularly due to stressors experienced during active duty. As such, the claims for these conditions have been granted.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for an initial compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss disability and has remanded his claims of service connection for acquired psychiatric disability, CVA residuals, and prostate disorder due to insufficient evidence or conflicting diagnoses.