PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) decisions — 2001

The veteran's PTSD is currently rated at 30 percent, and the Board has ordered a remand to consider whether his disability warrants an increased rating.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been presented to reopen the veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for PTSD. The claim is now reopened, but further development is needed before a final decision can be made.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the veteran's claimed service stressors and a need for further examination.

The Board has determined that the veteran's depression is part and parcel of his service-connected PTSD, warranting a higher initial rating. The veteran's PTSD with depression now warrants a 70 percent disability evaluation.

The Board has found new and material evidence to reopen the claim for service connection of PTSD. The veteran's battalion commander confirmed that he engaged in combat, thus verifying a stressor related to his PTSD.

The Board has determined that the veteran's PTSD warrants a 100 percent evaluation, representing total occupational and social impairment.

The Board has determined that the veteran's PTSD warrants a 30 percent disability rating since November 12, 1999, and from March 24, 2000, through January 17, 2001. The current evidence shows that his PTSD symptoms have resulted in mild to definite impairment of social and industrial functioning.

The veteran's claims for increased PTSD disability evaluation and a total rating based on individual unemployability are being remanded to allow for additional development of the record, including scheduling an examination and obtaining medical records.

The veteran's service connection for PTSD and the gunshot wound to the left buttock has been restored, with a 50% evaluation for PTSD effective January 20, 1998. The veteran is also granted TDIU.

The Board found that the veteran did not submit a timely and adequate substantive appeal with the March 1999 rating decision which assigned an initial 10 percent disability rating for PTSD, thus denying his appeal.

The veteran is seeking an increased disability rating for his service-connected PTSD, which is currently evaluated as 50 percent disabling. The Board believes that additional evidentiary development is required and has remanded the case.

The Board found that the veteran did not engage in combat with the enemy during service and was not shown to be suffering from PTSD. Therefore, his claim for service connection for PTSD was denied.

The veteran's PTSD is rated at 30 percent, and his right hand disability remains at 10 percent. The decision on PTSD grants the higher rating, while the right hand issue is denied.

The veteran's PTSD was granted an increased evaluation to 50 percent, effective July 1999. The non-service-connected pension claim remains denied.

The veteran's service-connected PTSD is currently rated at 10 percent, while his second-degree burns of the bilateral upper and lower extremities continue to be rated as noncompensable. The Board found that the PTSD symptoms do not warrant a higher rating but did grant an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for PTSD.

The Board denied claims for PTSD and a disability manifested by pain and numbness of the lower extremities as a result of claimed service trauma, finding no credible supporting evidence for the stressor in Vietnam and noting that any current symptoms did not originate during active duty.

The veteran's claim for an increased evaluation and earlier effective date for PTSD was granted. The effective date for the grant of service connection is set at December 15, 1995.

The Board has granted an increased evaluation for the veteran's service-connected PTSD to 70 percent, effective from when his claim was filed. The right foot plantar wart issue is addressed in the remand portion of this decision.

The veteran's PTSD has been rated at 70 percent since February 15, 1994. The VA has determined that the condition is permanently disabling as of January 26, 1999.

The VA has determined that the veteran's post-traumatic stress disorder warrants a 50 percent disability evaluation, effective from August 14, 2000.