PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) decisions — 2006

The veteran's PTSD has been rated at 70 percent since November 21, 2002. Prior to that date, the claim for a higher rating was denied. The current rating is appropriate based on the severity of symptoms.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD and a back disability due to lack of evidence supporting the claimed stressors and no other evidence corroborating them. The veteran did not have combat duty, and there is insufficient evidence linking his current conditions to service.

The veteran's service-connected PTSD and residuals of fractures of the right clavicle and C7, with post-operative laminectomy and fusion do not meet the criteria for special monthly compensation based on need for regular aid and attendance or being housebound.

The veteran's PTSD was initially rated at 10 percent from June 25, 1992 to December 14, 2004 and increased to 30 percent effective from December 15, 2004.

The veteran's PTSD was incurred in active service and the Board has granted service connection for this condition.

The Board found credible evidence of the veteran's PTSD symptoms and verified stressors, leading to a grant of service connection for PTSD.

The Board found that the veteran's psychiatric symptoms, fatigue, skin rash, and headaches are not related to his service in the Persian Gulf War or any other service-connected condition. The criteria for service connection based on the provisions applicable to veterans of the Persian Gulf War were not met.

The Board found that the veteran's PTSD does not meet or approximate the criteria for a 100 percent evaluation, and thus denied his claim for an increased rating.

The veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for adding a dependent child due to school attendance is denied as VA first received the claim on December 21, 2001, and there was no evidence of a valid claim within one year after her eighteenth birthday or upon beginning a course of instruction.

The Board has remanded the veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD due to insufficient information regarding her claimed stressors in service. The case is now pending further development and examination.

Effective September 18, 1989, the veteran received service connection for a post-operative scar, residuals of lumbar spine fusion and a 40 percent rating.,The veteran's right lumbosacral radiculopathy was rated at 10 percent effective September 23, 2002.,PTSD was granted with a 100 percent rating effective June 1, 1997.,Bilateral sensorineural hearing loss claim was denied.

The Board denied the veteran's request for an earlier effective date of July 21, 1998 for the grant of nonservice-connected pension benefits due to a final and binding determination in December 1998. The appeal is dismissed.

The Board has granted service connection for degenerative disc disease of the lumbosacral spine, postoperative status, and denied service connection for PTSD. The veteran's low back disability is found to be related to in-service parachute jumps, while his PTSD claim was not supported by credible evidence of an in-service stressor.

The Board found that the veteran does not have a current diagnosis of PTSD and denied his claim for service connection.

The Board has determined that the veteran does not have a service-connected post-traumatic stress disorder or back disability. The evidence does not support a finding of such conditions.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for residuals of a head injury, PTSD, skin condition (stasis dermatitis), and bilateral cataracts. The reasons were that there was no verified in-service stressor for PTSD, no evidence of exposure to herbicide agents or ionizing radiation, and no diagnosed conditions related to these exposures.

The veteran's appeals for service connection for bilateral wrist disability, PTSD, and an increased rating for impetigo of the face with pseudosycosis barbae were dismissed as no substantive appeal was filed within the required time frame.

The Board found that the veteran does not meet the DSM IV criteria for a diagnosis of PTSD and denied his claim for service connection. The issue of whether new and material evidence has been submitted sufficient to reopen a claim of entitlement to service connection for a nervous condition is addressed in the REMAND portion.

The Board denied service connection for PTSD and hepatitis C, but granted service connection for diabetes mellitus with a 20 percent disability rating effective May 8, 2002.

The veteran's PTSD is rated at a 70 percent disability rating, effective from the date of his claim to reopen in October 1990.