PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) decisions — 2006

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for a psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, due to insufficient evidence of a verified in-service stressful experience and medical opinion that such an event was not severe enough to support a diagnosis of PTSD.

The Board granted a 70 percent evaluation for PTSD effective June 18, 2005, and awarded entitlement to a TDIU from that date. The veteran's earlier service connection claim was denied.

The veteran's PTSD is rated at 70 percent from June 29, 2000 through April 3, 2004. The RO has granted a higher evaluation of 50 percent for the period before June 29, 2000 and denied any further increase in rating beyond 70 percent since April 4, 2004.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD, residuals of a head injury, and hepatitis. The claim to reopen a previously denied low back disability was also denied.

The veteran's PTSD resulted in reduced reliability and productivity, leading to occupational and social impairment prior to May 27, 2004. After May 27, 2004, the disability was rated at 70 percent.

The VA has determined that the veteran's PTSD does not warrant a higher disability rating, as it currently results in occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity.

The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete information regarding the veteran's claimed stressors and in-service mental health records. The veteran is requested to provide detailed descriptions of his alleged stressors, which will be verified by the U.S. Army and Joint Services Records Research Center (JSRRC).

The veteran's claim for specially adapted housing assistance or a special home adaptation grant is being remanded due to the need for additional development of his medical records and VA examinations.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining medical records and verifying stressors claimed by the veteran.

The Board has remanded the case due to the need for additional development, including obtaining treatment records and a medical opinion regarding the veteran's psychiatric condition.

The veteran's PTSD was not manifested by gross impairment in thought processes or communication, persistent delusions or hallucinations, grossly inappropriate behavior, persistent danger of hurting self or others, intermittent inability to perform activities of daily living (including maintenance of minimal personal hygiene), disorientation to time or place, or memory loss for names of close relatives, own occupation, or his own name prior to March 4, 2004. As of March 4, 2004, the veteran's PTSD did not meet the criteria for a higher rating.

The veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for PTSD is denied as it was not received until July 13, 2001.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining corroborating evidence of alleged stressful events in service and a psychiatric examination to determine if any current psychiatric disability began during service or is causally linked to such events.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to properly adjudicate the veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD and Low Back Disorder, including obtaining records from various healthcare providers.

The VA has determined that the veteran's PTSD does not meet or approximate the criteria for a higher initial rating than 30 percent.

The Board has determined that the veteran does not have PTSD attributable to experiences during active service and therefore denied his claim for service connection.

The VA denied the veteran's claim for service connection of PTSD, finding no evidence of a diagnosis and noting that the veteran did not meet criteria for PTSD.

The veteran withdrew his appeal, leaving no issues for the Board to consider.

The Board has remanded the case due to failure to comply with a previous remand directive. The veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 50 percent for post-traumatic stress disorder is now pending.

The Board denied the claims for service connection of schizophrenia and PTSD, finding no new and material evidence presented to reopen the claim for schizophrenia and concluding that there was insufficient evidence to establish a link between the veteran's current symptoms and an in-service stressor for PTSD.