Acquired psychiatric disorder Board decisions

The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for bilateral hearing loss, a back disorder, and a psychiatric disorder due to duty-to-assist errors.

The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date and increased rating for his service-connected psychiatric disorder was denied. The effective date remains January 23, 2012, and the current disability rating is 50 percent.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to service-connected disabilities because no new and relevant evidence was received since the May 2019 denial.

The Board has granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder (claimed as Social Adjustment Disorder) to include PTSD and depression, but denied service connection for chronic fatigue syndrome and hypertension. The Veteran's hypertension is currently rated as noncompensable.

The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder and lumbosacral strain have not improved to warrant restoration of the previously assigned ratings.

The Board has decided that the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including major depression with psychotic features, is related to service and remanded for further development.

The Board has remanded the claims for prostate disability, hypertension (HTN), acquired psychiatric disorder, right shoulder and hip disabilities, hepatitis C, bilateral pes planus, left shin splint, left hip disability, right shin splint, neck disability, right knee disability, and bilateral plantar fasciitis due to pre-decisional errors in the development process.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the relationship between the Veteran's service-connected acquired psychiatric disorder and his currently diagnosed obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

The Board has granted a 70 percent disability rating for the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, but has remanded the claim for a higher rating of his migraine disability.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, OSA, hypertension, and hand disabilities have been denied as there is no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.,Service connection was not granted because the medical records do not show any current diagnoses or symptoms related to these conditions during or after his military service.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors and remands the cases for further action.

The Board has decided to remand all of the Veteran's claims due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error. The AOJ must obtain her complete service personnel records, including those related to her Pennsylvania National Guard service and verify all active duty for training (ACDUTRA) or inactive duty of training (INACDUTRA) dates.

The Board has determined that new and relevant evidence has been received to readjudicate the claim for service connection for memory loss. The case is remanded due to a lack of an adequate VA examination in the context of the acquired psychiatric disorder claim.

The Board has determined that new and relevant evidence has been received to warrant readjudication of the Veteran's claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder and a sleeping disorder as secondary to an acquired psychiatric disorder. The claims are being remanded due to a duty to assist error, specifically the need for a VA examination prior to the SOC on appeal.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for allergic rhinitis and GERD, as well as service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, were dismissed. The Board also remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for left and right lower extremity radiculopathy.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors and remands the cases for further action.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for schizophrenia, paranoid type with moderate alcohol use disorder. The appeal regarding an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for a service-connected cervical strain is remanded.

The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date of November 8, 2019 for the assignment of a 100 percent rating for his acquired psychiatric disorder is granted based on continuous pursuit of the claim.

The Veteran's asthma claim is granted, and the psychiatric disorder claim is remanded for further examination and determination of service connection.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder is granted, but only for the period of service from April 6, 1995 to August 5, 1999. The character of discharge for the second period of service (August 6, 1999 to May 2, 2002) is dishonorable and constitutes a bar to VA benefits, except for health care purposes.