Acquired psychiatric disorder Board decisions

The Board finds that the veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and schizoaffective disorder, is reasonably attributable to service due to aggravation of any pre-existing conditions.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for alcoholism and psychiatric disability, as well as his claim for an increased evaluation of his right knee disability. The right knee disability was evaluated at a 20% rating.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for a psychiatric disorder and residuals of a chronic lumbar strain, including herniated lumbar discs, degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine, lower extremity muscle weakness, and cervical myelopathy at C3-C4, all secondary to his service-connected coccygodynia.

The veteran's service-connected low back disorder and psychiatric disorder make him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation, warranting a TDIU.

The Board found that the veteran did not have a left knee disability in service or until many years after his separation from service, and thus denied entitlement to service connection for a left knee disability. The claim of whether new and material evidence has been presented sufficient to reopen a claim of entitlement to service connection for a psychiatric disability is also being remanded.

The Board has determined that the cause of the veteran's death, multilobular necrotizing pneumonia, was not incurred or aggravated by service. The preponderance of evidence does not support a finding that the veteran's schizophrenia contributed to his death.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development due to conflicting evidence and lack of definitive opinions regarding the veteran's disabilities resulting from mercury exposure.

The Board of Veterans' Appeals (BVA) has remanded the veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including schizophrenia. The case is to be reviewed under the legal standard set forth by VAOGCPREC 3-2003 and a psychiatric examination should be conducted.

The veteran's claim for a higher rating and total disability based on individual unemployability was denied, with the effective date of his 100% rating for paranoid schizophrenia set at June 13, 2001.

The veteran's claim for an increased evaluation of his schizophrenia is being remanded due to the submission of new evidence from a private psychiatrist. The case will be returned to the RO for consideration of this additional evidence and issuance of an SSOC.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for lung disease, PTSD, and an acquired psychiatric disorder other than PTSD. The evidence does not support a finding of current diagnoses or a link to service.

The Board found no evidence of a pre-existing psychiatric condition that was aggravated by service, and the current acquired psychiatric disability is not shown to be related to service. Therefore, service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, including bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, is denied.

The veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder is being remanded due to the need for additional development, including VA medical and vocational/rehabilitation files, and a VA psychiatric examination.

The Board found that the veteran's current psychiatric disorder did not have its onset during service or within a year of discharge, and thus denied his claim for service connection.

The Board has determined that the veteran's diagnosed chronic schizophrenia had its onset within the first year post service, and is accordingly deserving of service connection on a first-year-post-service presumptive basis.

The veteran's paranoid schizophrenia has been manifested throughout the appeal period by active psychotic manifestations of such extent, severity, depth, persistence, or bizarreness as to produce total social and industrial inadaptability. The criteria for a 100 percent schedular rating are met for the entire appeal period.

The veteran's death was due to complications from his service-connected schizophrenia, which contributed substantially to his condition.

The veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to the need to obtain additional medical records from the Social Security Administration.

The Board has denied the claim of service connection for schizophrenia, finding that there is no evidence linking the condition to service and denying the appeal.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded for further examination and development of his claims, including obtaining treatment records and clarifying the nature and severity of his service-connected psychiatric disorders.