Acquired psychiatric disorder decisions — 2023

The Board has reopened the claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, bilateral hearing loss, left ear disability, back pain, neck pain, left arm disability, right arm disability, left knee disability, right knee disability, left ankle disability, and right ankle disability. The issues have been remanded due to new evidence submitted by the Veteran.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including insomnia, alcohol abuse/substance use disorder, and tobacco use disorder, finding that there was no causal relationship between his in-service experiences and his current mental health conditions.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for a mental disorder and psoriatic arthritis are being remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions regarding the etiology of these conditions.

The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for service connection of an acquired psychiatric disorder was denied as the earliest legal possible effective date is October 17, 2017.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding whether the Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea is secondary to his service-connected acquired psychiatric disorder. The examiner must provide an opinion on both the proximate cause and aggravation aspects of this claim.

The Veteran's claims for PTSD, left ear hearing loss, left elbow condition, right elbow condition, left knee condition, and bilateral pes planus have been reopened. The appeal regarding TDIU is dismissed. The appeals for service connection are remanded due to new and material evidence having been submitted.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for tenosynovitis, left ankle and an acquired psychiatric disorder were denied. The effective date of the award of service connection for tenosynovitis, left ankle was fixed at August 21, 2013.

The Board has granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, finding that the Veteran's preexisting condition was aggravated by his period of active duty from September 2006 to April 2007.

The Board has decided to remand the case for further development and examination, including a psychiatric evaluation.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD, anxiety, and depression, should be remanded due to incomplete stressor verification and issues with the January 2023 VA examination.

The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, unspecified depressive disorder with anxious distress, and insomnia disorder are found to be related to his service.,Migraine headaches are determined to be secondary to the Veteran's service-connected acquired psychiatric disorder.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to the need for additional medical opinions regarding the Veteran's psychiatric symptoms and their relationship to his service-connected hearing loss.

Your appeal for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder has been dismissed as you have already received the full benefits sought.

The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for the grant of TDIU is denied. The Board found that the earliest possible effective date assignable in this circumstance is August 6, 2013.

The Board has remanded the claims for an initial rating in excess of 50 percent for a psychiatric disability, prior to October 17, 2022; an increased rating for migraine headaches, in excess of 10 percent prior to October 18, 2022, and in excess of 50 percent as of October 18, 2022; and entitlement to an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for trigeminal neuralgia. The TDIU claim is also remanded.

The Board has remanded the claims for fibromyalgia, an acquired psychiatric disorder, and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) due to incomplete verification of service records and requests for additional medical records. The AOJ is instructed to verify all periods of active duty, ACDUTRA, and INACDUTRA, request treatment records from the University Hospital in Torrejón, Spain, and attempt to verify participation of the 37th AEG (AFRES) at MacDill AFB, Florida's deployment in March 1987.

The Veteran's appeals are being remanded due to procedural errors, and the issues on appeal will be readjudicated in their original posture from the July 2018 rating decision.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for erectile dysfunction and psychiatric disability, finding no evidence linking these conditions to his active duty. The claim for acne vulgaris with scarring is remanded due to incomplete compliance with prior remand directives.

The Veteran's claims for carpal tunnel syndrome of the right wrist, tinnitus, and gastroesophageal reflux disorder (GERD) have been denied as there is no current diagnosis or evidence linking these conditions to his service.,The Veteran's claim for degenerative arthritis of the left knee has been remanded due to insufficient medical opinion regarding its relationship to his service-connected right knee sprain. The claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder and hypertension remains in a similar state.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, constipation, and an acquired psychiatric disorder (including major depressive disorder and PTSD) due to inadequate medical opinions. The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for his service-connected bilateral hearing loss is denied.