Acquired psychiatric disorder Board decisions

The Veteran's claim for service connection for residuals of traumatic brain injury and a psychiatric disorder, to include posttraumatic stress disorder, has been denied as there is no probative evidence of TBI or residual thereof in service.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim for service connection for idiopathic scoliosis and granted it. The issue of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder is pending.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, is denied as his period of other than honorable service ended with a bad conduct discharge. The weight of the evidence does not support a finding that his current anxiety symptoms are related to his first period of honorable service.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for sleep apnea is denied as there is no evidence of any in-service injury or disease related to this condition, and the weight of the evidence does not support a finding that his current sleep disorder is related to his first period of honorable service.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claims for service connection for residuals of an inservice TBI and acquired psychiatric disability, but denied his claim for hepatitis C. The decision is mixed as some issues were granted while others were not.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for a new VA examination and consideration of her claims, particularly regarding her service connection for PTSD.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disability, including psychotic symptoms, was manifested to a compensable degree within the first post-service year and is presumed to have had its onset during service.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to obtain additional service treatment records and VA treatment records, as well as a VA examination for her claimed ear disabilities and psychiatric conditions.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for a hearing before the Board of Veterans' Appeals at a local VA office. Service connection will be reconsidered based on new evidence and claims.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current diagnosis of an acquired psychiatric disorder, specifically dysthymic disorder, is related to a personal assault during his military service and grants service connection for this condition.

The Veteran seeks an earlier effective date for service connection of schizo-affective schizophrenia and compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 for staph infection residuals as a result of VA medical treatment, but the Board finds that neither claim is warranted based on the evidence.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, including PTSD and anxiety disorder, is granted. The Board finds that the evidence is at least in equipoise as to whether his PTSD and anxiety disorder are related to his military service. For the initial compensable rating for residuals of malaria, a VA examination is needed due to the passage of time since the last examination.

The Veteran's unauthorized medical expenses incurred from April 6 to 8, 2010 at the Ocala Regional Medical Center are approved due to his service-connected disabilities and the lack of feasible availability of VA facilities.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining missing service records and scheduling a VA examination. The claims will be re-adjudicated after the development.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claim for further development, including scheduling a VA examination and providing notice of the examination at his current address. The Veteran is seeking service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include schizophrenia.

The Board has granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder secondary to service-connected gastritis and assigned a 30 percent disability rating for gastritis. The Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for gastritis was denied.

The Veteran's schizophrenia resulted in total occupational and social impairment within the year prior to his June 15, 2004 claim for a higher rating. The Board finds that an effective date of June 15, 2004 is warranted.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of PTSD and his other diagnosed acquired psychiatric disorders are not related to service. Therefore, the claims for service connection for both PTSD and an acquired psychiatric disorder other than PTSD are denied.

The Board found no clear and unmistakable error in the denial of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, but determined new and material evidence had been received to reopen a claim for PTSD. The decision is mixed as it addressed both issues.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claims for PTSD, an acquired psychiatric disorder to include depression, and headaches due to head trauma. The merits of these claims will be addressed in a future remand.

The Veteran's service connection for PTSD is granted, and the claims for higher ratings for his right and left knee disabilities are addressed. The issue of TDIU is part and parcel of the determination of the claim for a higher rating for the Veteran's service-connected disabilities.