PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) decisions — 2000

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for a chronic pulmonary disorder and denied his requests for earlier effective dates for post-traumatic stress disorder and tinnitus.

The veteran's claim for an increased disability rating for his service-connected posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is being remanded due to the need for additional development of the evidentiary record, including obtaining recent medical records and scheduling a VA examination.

The Board has determined that the RO's decisions denying service connection for PTSD in October 17, 1983 and January 19, 1989 were not clearly and unmistakably erroneous. The effective date of the grant of service connection for PTSD is set at July 19, 1991.

The Board granted service connection for PTSD and assigned a 100 percent rating, but denied attorney fees related to this issue. The increased rating for the left mandible fracture was granted with attorney fees allowed.

The Board found that the veteran did not provide competent medical evidence demonstrating a current diagnosis of PTSD, and therefore denied his claim for service connection.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for asthma, bronchitis, alcoholism, and PTSD. The RO previously denied these claims in April 1992 without reopening them due to lack of new and material evidence.

The Board found that the veteran's PTSD is productive of no more than definite social and industrial impairment, warranting a disability rating of 30 percent.

The Board has granted the veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD, finding that his current diagnosis of PTSD is related to verified in-service stressors and combat experiences.

The veteran's service-connected PTSD is rated at 50 percent, and his bilateral hearing loss is presumed to have developed due to combat-related noise exposure. The effective date for these ratings is not specified.

The Board found that the appellant's character of discharge from service is a bar to VA benefits (exclusive of health care under Chapter 17, Title 38, United States Code).

The veteran's claim for special monthly pension due to needing aid and attendance of another person or being housebound is denied as he does not meet the criteria for either condition based on his service-connected disabilities and other medical conditions.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD, finding that his claim was not well-grounded due to a lack of a current diagnosis of PTSD.

The veteran's PTSD is productive of incapacitating symptoms resulting in total occupational and social impairment, warranting a 100 percent evaluation.

The Board denied the motion for revision of the January 28, 1998 decision on grounds of clear and unmistakable error (CUE), finding that there was no CUE in the decision.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection due to lack of evidence supporting the claimed conditions.

The veteran's PTSD is rated at 50 percent since September 1998, with a history of symptoms including flattened affect, disturbances in motivation and mood, flashbacks, and difficulties in establishing effective work and social relationships.

The veteran is seeking a higher initial evaluation for his service-connected PTSD. The VA has requested additional medical evidence and scheduled the veteran for an examination to determine the current level of impairment.

The VA determined that the veteran's PTSD did not warrant a rating in excess of 50 percent, considering his current symptoms and overall functioning.

The Board has determined that the veteran's PTSD results in considerable industrial impairment, warranting a 50 percent rating.

The veteran's claims for increased evaluations of his low back and cervical spine disabilities, as well as post-traumatic stress disorder, were denied. The initial rating decision assigned a 40% evaluation for the low back disability effective from January 26, 1998.