PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) decisions — 2000

The veteran's claims of PTSD and residuals of a head injury were denied as there is no current diagnosis or evidence linking these conditions to service.,The claim for hearing loss was previously denied in 1983, with the RO finding that pre-existing hearing loss did not worsen during service. The new evidence does not provide sufficient information to reopen this claim.

The Board has dismissed the case as it does not have original jurisdiction to decide eligibility for attorney fees under direct payment contingency-fee agreements.

The VA denied the veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD and esophageal cancer, finding no competent medical evidence linking these conditions to his military service.

The Board has granted a 70 percent evaluation for PTSD effective November 18, 1997. The veteran's PTSD is currently rated as 100 percent disabling.

The Board has determined that the appellant's claim for service connection for PTSD is well-grounded and remanded to the RO for further development, including verifying in-service stressors and providing a comprehensive VA psychiatric examination.

The Board found that new evidence submitted since the January 1996 rating decision did not constitute new and material evidence to reopen the veteran's claim for service connection for a nervous disorder, including major depression. The issue of PTSD was reopened based on new evidence, but the Board concluded that the current diagnosis of PTSD is based on unsubstantiated reports of a stressor provided by the veteran.

The veteran's appeal is remanded for further development of his PTSD claim, including a VA psychiatric examination to assess the extent and impact of his service-connected PTSD.

The veteran's TDIU benefits were granted effective October 12, 1993, based on service-connected cardiovascular disabilities and PTSD. The earliest date as of which the increase in disability was ascertainable is October 12, 1993.

The Board found that the appellant's claimed PTSD was not incurred in or aggravated by his military service and denied his claim.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for an increased rating of PTSD and service connection for a heart condition as secondary to his PTSD. The heart condition claim was found not well-grounded, while the PTSD claim had no evidence supporting a higher rating.

The veteran's PTSD is currently rated at 50 percent disabling. The Board found that the criteria for an evaluation greater than 30 percent prior to July 5, 1994 and greater than 50 percent beginning September 1, 1994 are not met.

The Board found that the veteran's claimed stressors did not meet the criteria for PTSD as per DSM IV, and thus service connection was denied.

The veteran's PTSD resulted in symptoms bordering on gross repudiation of reality with disturbed thought or behavioral processes associated with almost all daily activities such as fantasy and confusion, resulting in a demonstrable inability to obtain or retain employment. The veteran's degenerative arthritis of the lumbosacral spine is manifested by no more than moderate limitation of motion.

The Board found that the appellant's claim for service connection for pes planus is not well grounded due to lack of competent evidence linking current findings to service.,For the psychiatric disorder, excluding PTSD, the Board also found it not well grounded as there was no competent medical evidence linking post-service findings to service. However, the Board noted that the appellant's pre-existing PTSD likely increased in severity during active service.

The veteran's PTSD, combined with his cognitive impairment due to a stroke, results in total occupational and social impairment. The Board has determined that the old version of the rating criteria is more advantageous to the veteran, warranting a 100% schedular rating from the effective date of service connection for PTSD.

The veteran's PTSD is rated at 50 percent, effective November 5, 1996. The service connection for CVA and hypertension was denied.

The VA denied the veteran's claims for increased evaluations of his service-connected residuals of a shrapnel wound to the neck and PTSD. The RO granted a 50 percent disability rating for PTSD but did not grant an increase in the evaluation for the shrapnel wound to the neck.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD, finding that there was no verified stressor related to combat and insufficient evidence linking her current symptoms to a rape in service.

The case is being remanded to obtain the veteran's complete personnel records and VA mental health records. The RO will then re-adjudicate the claim for an acquired psychiatric disability.

The veteran is dissatisfied with the initial 50 percent rating assigned for PTSD and also seeks a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.