Acquired psychiatric disorder decisions — 2023

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, finding that his current mental health condition is etiologically related to his active military service.

The Board denied service connection for acquired psychiatric disabilities, including anxiety and/or depression, PTSD, unspecified personality disorder, residuals of a right foot injury (big toe arthritis), and degloved pinky finger. The Veteran's claims were not supported by credible evidence linking the conditions to her military service.

The claims for service connection for bilateral claw foot, acquired psychiatric disorder (claimed as general anxiety and dysthymic disorder), diabetes mellitus, type II, prostate cancer, right knee replacement, and strokes have all been dismissed.,The Veteran's right knee disability was not related to his military service.

The Veteran's appeals for service connection for PTSD and an acquired psychiatric disability other than PTSD are dismissed due to the concurrent nature of these appeals in separate appeal streams.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, bilateral foot disability, and acne with keloid scarring, upper back and shoulders have been granted. The claim for increased rating for acne has also been granted.

Service connection for tinnitus is granted. The Veteran's claim for a compensable rating for the residuals of a tonsillectomy and service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder are remanded.

The Board has remanded the appellant's claims for further development, including obtaining Social Security Administration records and a VA examination to determine if the appellant was insane at the time of his misconduct leading to his discharge. The issues are inextricably intertwined with the character of discharge issue.

The Veteran's request for TDIU prior to July 15, 2013 is remanded due to the interconnected nature of his claims for earlier effective dates for increased ratings for psychiatric and cardiac conditions. The case will be returned to the AOJ for further consideration.

The Veteran's appeal for service connection of an acquired psychiatric disability has been dismissed as the Veteran withdrew his appeal. The Board also remanded cases regarding rating increases for left knee, right knee soft tissue quadricep tear, and right knee extension disabilities.

The Veteran withdrew the appeal of entitlement to service connection for a skin disorder.,Entitlement to service connection for neurofibromatosis, eye disorder, acquired mental disorder, breast cancer, edema, neck disorder, low back disorder, right hip disorder, left hip disorder, right knee disorder, left knee disorder, right ankle disorder, and left ankle disorder is denied.

The Board has remanded the case due to concerns raised in a Joint Motion for Partial Remand (JMPR) regarding the Veteran's lay testimony about the onset and chronicity of his symptoms during service.

The Veteran's appeal for a higher initial rating for tinnitus was withdrawn during his hearing. The Board granted service connection for right ear hearing loss and denied service connection for right knee, left knee, kidney cancer residuals, varicose veins, neck disability, acquired psychiatric disorder, and obstructive sleep apnea.,The Veteran's right ear hearing loss is related to noise exposure in service.

The Veteran's service connection claims for acquired psychiatric disorder other than PTSD, to include paranoid schizophrenia, and a thoracolumbar spine condition are granted. The claim for service connection for PTSD is denied.

The Board has remanded the claims due to new evidence being added since the last decision, and the appellant is proceeding pro se.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient compliance with previous remand directives, requiring a new VA opinion on the nature and etiology of the Appellant's undifferentiated schizophrenia.

The Veteran's right foot disability and acquired psychiatric condition are granted, but the claim for service connection for depression and anxiety is remanded.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to failure to schedule VA examinations, and requests additional medical opinions.

The Board has remanded the issues of service connection for a right wrist disability and left wrist disability due to insufficient development in the prior VA examination.,Additional medical evidence is needed to determine if these disabilities are related to service.

The Board denied service connection for acquired psychiatric disability (nervousness), hypertension, and bilateral eye conditions. The Veteran's claim for service connection of headaches is remanded.,Service connection was not granted for the Veteran's claimed acquired psychiatric disability (nervousness), hypertension, or bilateral eye conditions due to lack of evidence supporting a current disability at any time during the pendency of the claims period and proximate thereto. The Board also denied service connection for headaches on remand.

The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder is currently rated at 50 percent, effective April 8, 2004. The Board has granted an initial rating of 50 percent for the period prior to September 28, 2022, and denied a higher rating.