Acquired psychiatric disorder Board decisions

The Board found that the veteran's schizophrenia existed prior to service and was not aggravated by service, thus denying his claim for service connection.

The veteran's appeal of increased ratings for peripheral neuropathy of the right and left lower extremity, as well as his claim for erectile dysfunction have been withdrawn. The Board has dismissed these issues due to withdrawal.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling a VA examination. The veteran's claims of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder and entitlement to TDIU are inextricably intertwined.

The Board found no evidence of a diagnosed PTSD and concluded that the veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder was not incurred in or related to service. The claim for PTSD was denied.

The Board denied the veteran's request to reopen his claim of service connection for psychiatric disability, including agoraphobia with underlying depression due to lack of new and material evidence.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded to the RO for scheduling a hearing before a Veterans Law Judge at the RO. The case will be returned to the Board after this action.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claims for service connection for a psychiatric disability, tremors, and muscle/nerve disability have been denied as there is no competent evidence of a nexus between these conditions and his military service.

The veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to incomplete records and the need to verify his exposure to Agent Orange in Korea.

The Board finds that the veteran does not have chronic fatigue syndrome etiologically related to active service and denies his claim for service connection.

The Board has determined that the appellant is not entitled to VA death pension benefits as a helpless child due to her current age and lack of evidence showing she was permanently incapable of self-support prior to her 18th birthday.

The veteran's claim for an increased rating of his schizophrenia is being remanded due to the need for a new VA examination and additional records from VA treatment providers.

The veteran's appeal was timely filed for his claims of service connection for chronic fatigue, various undiagnosed illnesses, and a mental disorder. The Board found that the August 1995 submission constituted a timely substantive appeal to the November 1994 rating decision.

The Board is remanding the case for further development, including obtaining a medical opinion on whether the veteran's alcohol abuse was related to his service-connected schizophrenia.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence and a need for further examination. The veteran's claim of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder is pending.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection due to lack of evidence showing his acquired psychiatric disorder was incurred in or aggravated by service, and because hepatitis C is not a disease that can be presumed based on its latency period. The claim for hepatitis C was also denied as it resulted from the veteran's own willful misconduct.

The veteran's claim for increased evaluation of his service-connected discogenic disease of L5-S1 with lumbar strain was granted, and he is currently receiving a 20% evaluation since November 27, 2007. The issue regarding the psychiatric disorder has been reopened, but no new evidence has been provided to support reopening the claim.

The Board found that the veteran does not have a psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD, which is etiologically related to active service. Therefore, service connection for a psychiatric disorder was denied.

The Board denied the veteran's claims of entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder and secondary service connection for hypertension, finding that new and material evidence was not submitted sufficient to reopen the previously-denied claim. The Board also determined that there is no medical nexus between the veteran's diagnosed hypertension and his service-connected diabetes mellitus.

The veteran died in May 2003 and was not receiving VA compensation or pension benefits at the time of death. The appeal is denied as there are no criteria met for payment of a nonservice-connected burial benefit.

The Board has determined that the appellant's right upper extremity injuries sustained in November 1969 were incurred in the line of duty, and he is entitled to service connection for the residuals of a gunshot wound. However, there is insufficient evidence to establish service connection for his claimed psychiatric disorder.