PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) decisions — 2006

The veteran's appeal for service connection for PTSD has been dismissed due to his death.

The Board has determined that the veteran does not have Crohn's disease or PTSD that was incurred in service. The appeal is being remanded to obtain additional information and potentially verify stressors for PTSD.

The Board has determined that the veteran's request for a hearing before a Veterans Law Judge of the Board must be scheduled due to his inability to travel to Washington, D.C. for a Board hearing.

The veteran's appeal is remanded due to outstanding medical records and the need for a VA examination. The issue remains whether he should receive an increased disability rating for his PTSD.

The VA denied the veteran's request for a higher rating for his PTSD, maintaining that he is currently rated at 50 percent based on the criteria for reduced reliability and productivity due to symptoms such as flattened affect, intrusive thoughts, hypervigilance, and difficulty concentrating.

The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete medical records and requested additional evidence. The veteran's PTSD is currently rated at 30 percent.

The VA determined that the veteran's service-connected PTSD is currently manifested by serious, but not severe symptomatology and thus does not warrant a rating in excess of 50 percent.

The Board found that the veteran's PTSD did not meet the criteria for a higher initial rating beyond 50 percent, as his symptoms were consistent with moderate impairment in social and industrial functioning.

The Board has determined that the veteran's PTSD is service-connected based on credible evidence of exposure to combat-related stressors. The depression claim remains pending as an unprocessed NOD was received.

The veteran's appeal is denied as he did not meet the criteria for reimbursement of unauthorized medical expenses incurred on July 28, 2003, and July 31, 2003.

The veteran's claim for an increased rating for PTSD was granted, and the effective date of service connection for PTSD was advanced to January 31, 2003. The veteran also received a 30 percent rating for his chronic paranoid schizophrenia as of January 1, 1974.

The Board has determined that a comprehensive psychiatric examination is necessary to decide the veteran's claims for PTSD and major depressive disorder. The RO must also obtain any VA treatment records for those disorders not already associated with the claims file, as well as any relevant military records from Bosnia and Haiti.

The veteran's PTSD was rated at 30 percent prior to January 5, 2001 and increased to 70 percent after that date. The Board found the criteria for a higher rating were not met in either time period.

The veteran's PTSD was rated at 30 percent prior to August 29, 2003. From that date, the rating was increased to 50 percent.,An effective date of August 14, 2001, for a 30 percent evaluation for bilateral hearing loss is granted.,TDIU benefits are granted prior to August 29, 2003.

The Board has denied the veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD as there is no credible evidence that he engaged in combat with the enemy, and thus his testimony alone cannot establish the occurrence of the claimed stressors.

The Board denied the veteran's claim to reopen his PTSD service connection due to lack of new and material evidence.

The Board has granted a 50 percent disability rating for the veteran's service-connected PTSD, which is the maximum schedular evaluation available under Diagnostic Code 9411. The veteran's symptoms include difficulty understanding complex commands, short-term and long-term memory impairment, disturbances of motivation and mood, and difficulty retaining highly learned materials.

The Board denied the veteran's claims of service connection for bilateral hearing loss and PTSD, finding that there was no evidence to support these claims based on the lack of a nexus between current conditions and military service.

The veteran's service-connected PTSD, tinnitus, and hearing loss disability have been rated appropriately based on the severity of symptoms and impairment. The current ratings do not meet the criteria for higher evaluations.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for an initial rating in excess of 50 percent for PTSD, finding that his disability more closely approximates a 50 percent evaluation.