Acquired psychiatric disorder Board decisions

The Veteran has withdrawn his appeals for service connection for schizophrenia and an increased rating for unspecified depressive disorder.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD and found that new and material evidence had not been received to reopen his previously denied claim. The Board also determined that there was no current diagnosis of PTSD or other acquired psychiatric disorder, and concluded that the Veteran did not have a disease or injury in service that caused an acquired psychiatric disorder.

The Board has determined that further development is needed on the Veteran's claims for service connection for TBI residuals and an acquired psychiatric disorder, as secondary to his service-connected generalized seizure disorder. The AOJ must obtain additional inpatient treatment records from Lundstahl Army Hospital, arrange for a VA examination to clarify the nature of the Veteran's claimed TBI residuals, and schedule another VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of his claimed psychiatric disorder.

The Board has decided to remand the case for further development, including obtaining service treatment records and personnel records, as well as any character of discharge determination records. The appellant's mental health condition in service is being evaluated to determine if it constituted insanity or compelling circumstances warranting unauthorized absence.

The Board has determined that there is no evidence of a current acquired psychiatric disorder or compensably disabling psychotic disorder within one year after discharge from active duty, and thus the claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder is denied. The right shoulder and left elbow disorders are also not related to active duty service.

The Veteran's claims for a higher rating for his acquired psychiatric disorder to include PTSD and for TDIU were denied. The case is remanded for further development.

The Board found that the Appellant's paranoid schizophrenia pre-existed his entry into the National Guard and was not incurred or aggravated during his period of active duty for training. Therefore, service connection is denied.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including scheduling a VA examination and obtaining relevant medical records. The Veteran's claim will be reconsidered based on the new evidence.

The Board has determined that there is new and material evidence to reopen the claim for service connection for a psychiatric disability, which was previously denied in September 1992. The Veteran's previous appeal did not include this condition.

The Veteran's appeals for service connection on the remaining issues have been dismissed due to his withdrawal of those claims.

The Veteran's appeal was denied. The issues of entitlement to service connection for a psychiatric disability, right knee disability, left knee disability, and tinnitus were addressed. The reduction in the rating for hearing loss from 50% to 20% was found to be proper.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, and therefore service connection for this condition is denied.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's low back disorder including arthritis of the lumbar spine. The cervical spine and PTSD claims are being remanded.,The Veteran asserts that his current cervical spine disorder is related to an injury in service, similar to his low back disorder.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including a new VA examination to assess the severity of his schizophrenia. The TDIU claim is also inextricably intertwined and must be deferred until this development is completed.

The Board denied an earlier effective date for a 50 percent evaluation for the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, finding that there was no evidence of occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity within one year prior to January 7, 2009.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development, including obtaining updated VA treatment records and arranging for a psychiatric examination to clarify the nature and likely etiology of his psychiatric disability. The claim of service connection for GERD will also be remanded pending resolution of the psychiatric disability issue.

The Board finds that the Veteran's claimed in-service fall did not qualify as a stressor under DSM-IV criteria, and there is no credible supporting evidence of an actual in-service stressor. As such, service connection for PTSD cannot be established.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining VA examinations and reviewing the claims file to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran's claimed conditions.

The Board has decided to remand the case for additional development, including obtaining service personnel records and scheduling a VA examination.