Acquired psychiatric disorder Board decisions

The Board has determined that the veteran's psychiatric disability is not related to his service-connected residuals of the fractured left arm, and therefore denied his claim for service connection.

The Board found that the veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, is presumed to have been incurred in service due to exposure to Agent Orange. The other issues related to secondary service connection for various conditions are also granted.

The Board found that the appellant did not have a psychiatric disorder during active service or within one year of separation, and his condition was not incurred in or aggravated by active duty for training.

The Board denied the veteran's claims of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, a low back disorder, and diabetes mellitus. The Board found that there was no evidence to support these claims based on direct service connection.

The Board found that the veteran does not have a diagnosis of PTSD based on confirmed in-service stressors and denied his claim for service connection for PTSD.

The Board found that the veteran does not have an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, as a result of her service. The claim was denied.

The Board has remanded the case for further development due to scheduling issues.

The Board denied service connection for headaches, residuals of removal of a cyst on the left ear, chest pain, and a mental disorder due to lack of competent medical evidence linking these conditions to active service.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including a VA psychiatric examination to determine if the veteran's current psychiatric disorder is related to service or any verified stressors. The claim will be re-adjudicated based on the results of this examination.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder and for a higher evaluation for her low back pain with degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine.

The veteran's claim for service connection for paranoid schizophrenia is being remanded due to the need for a VA examination and additional development of his case.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for basic eligibility to Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) benefits due to a lack of competent medical evidence showing that his service-connected psychiatric disability was both total and permanent in nature prior to May 30, 1996.

The Board has determined that service connection for a bilateral foot disability is not warranted, as there is no evidence of such a condition during or within one year after service. The veteran's current psychiatric disorder may have pre-existed service and was not aggravated by it.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for an increased disability evaluation and TDIU due to schizophrenia, finding that the evidence did not show total social and industrial inadaptability or occupational impairment as required by the criteria.

The Board granted an effective date of July 9, 1979 for the grant of service connection for schizophrenia. The veteran argued for earlier dates based on hospitalizations and his first period of active duty, but the Board found no evidence supporting earlier effective dates.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded to the RO for further development and consideration of his claims, including scheduling a hearing and obtaining additional evidence from SSA.

The Board has determined that the veteran's psychiatric disorder was not incurred in or aggravated by service, and is not secondary to his service-connected right knee disability. The chronic low back disability and shortened right lower extremity are also denied as they are not shown to be related to service.

The veteran's claim for an earlier effective date of award for nonservice-connected pension benefits is denied as there was no prior submission of a formal or informal claim before August 16, 2000.

The Board has reopened the claim for service connection for the cause of the veteran's death due to new and material evidence. The VA physician and independent medical expert have provided opinions linking the veteran's psychiatric condition, specifically post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), to his cardiovascular disease leading to a fatal cardiac arrest.

The Board granted a 100 percent rating for schizophrenia effective May 12, 2003. The veteran's claim was based on the increase in his schizophrenia symptoms first ascertainable on August 31, 2001.