Acquired psychiatric disorder Board decisions

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and effective dates have been denied. The appeal is dismissed as the Veteran has withdrawn his appeals on several issues.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, is remanded due to the need for additional development and consideration of new evidence.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability other than PTSD is dismissed as the Veteran is already in receipt of service connection for PTSD.

The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for schizophrenia, paranoid type is being remanded due to the need to obtain additional records from Social Security Administration (SSA) and VA examination reports.

The Veteran's bladder/urinary disorder and psychiatric disorder claims have been denied as there is no evidence of a qualifying additional disability resulting from VA care, treatment, or examination.

The Board found that the Veteran's alleged stressors do not involve combat or fear of hostile military activity and are unverified. The competent and credible evidence does not support a finding that his acquired psychiatric disability is related to his military service.

The Board has denied reopening the claims for service connection for residuals of a back injury, schizoaffective disorder or schizophrenia, and left ear hearing loss disability due to lack of new and material evidence.

The Board found that the Veteran does not have a valid diagnosis of PTSD and his symptoms are more consistent with depression and anxiety. Therefore, service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder (PTSD, Anxiety Disorder) and sleep apnea is denied.

The Board finds that the appellant was insane at the time of the offenses leading to his discharge, thus not constituting a bar to VA benefits. Additionally, schizophrenia has been shown to have had its onset in military service and is therefore considered incurred in or aggravated by active military service.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for various disabilities, including a cervical spine disability, right shoulder and left shoulder disabilities, right arm and left arm disabilities, as well as psychiatric disorder (listed as depression) and COPD, all secondary to service-connected conditions or other causes. The decision also addressed whether new and material evidence had been submitted to reopen the Veteran's claim for service connection for a cervical spine disability.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records and a new examination to determine if the Veteran's PTSD is related to fear of hostile military activity or behavior changes in response to personal assaults during service.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including depression and schizophrenia, is being remanded due to the need for additional development of his medical records and a VA examination.

The Board denied the appellant's claim for Dependents' Educational Assistance under Chapter 35, finding that her eligibility to use Chapter 35 education benefits began on August 3, 1994, and ended on August 3, 2004. The Board also found that she did not qualify for an extension of the delimiting date beyond this period.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a psychiatric disability, to include as secondary to HIV, was denied. The claims for higher ratings for HIV and related conditions were also denied.

The Veteran's claim for an acquired psychiatric disability, including as secondary to service-connected tinea pedis, is denied because there is no evidence of a current disability.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder other than PTSD is not related to his service and therefore, he does not meet the criteria for service connection.

The Board has granted service connection for PTSD, finding that the Veteran's fear of threatened death or serious injury during basic training in the Marine Corps is consistent with his military experiences and sufficient to produce PTSD.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for additional development to obtain medical records and determine the nature and etiology of his psychiatric and cervical spine disabilities.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of entitlement to increased ratings for allergic rhinitis and gastritis, finding that there was no evidence of greater than 50 percent obstruction of nasal passage on both sides or complete obstruction on one side for allergic rhinitis. The rating assigned for gastritis did not meet the criteria for a compensable disability rating.

The Veteran's appeals for increased rating for diabetes mellitus with nephropathy, service connection for bilateral hearing loss, and service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability (to include posttraumatic stress disorder) were denied. The decision does not specify the basis of denial for each issue.