PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) decisions — 2007

The veteran's claim to reopen the issue of entitlement to an effective date earlier than March 27, 1997 for the award of service connection for PTSD is denied as legally insufficient.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD as there was no verified in-service stressor and the preponderance of evidence did not support a link between current PTSD symptoms and any verified events.

The Board found insufficient evidence to determine the current level of severity of the service-connected post-traumatic stress disorder, resulting in a denial of an increased evaluation for this condition. The claim for service connection for paranoid schizophrenia was also denied due to lack of evidence.

The VA Appeals Management Center (AMC) denied the veteran's claim for an increased rating for his service-connected PTSD, which is currently rated at 30 percent. The evidence did not meet the criteria for a higher rating.

The Board has remanded the case for further development related to the issue of entitlement to a rating in excess of 10 percent for a low back disorder. The effective date for special monthly compensation remains under review.

The Board has determined that there is no competent medical evidence of record indicating the veteran currently has PTSD. Therefore, service connection for PTSD was denied.

The Board has found new and material evidence to reopen the claim of service connection for PTSD. The veteran's claim is now pending on its merits.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD due to a lack of corroborated in-service stressors, and thus denied the claim.

The veteran's PTSD has been rated at 50 percent since June 1, 2002. The rating is based on moderate difficulty in social and occupational functioning.

The veteran's PTSD claim was reopened and granted, but his back disability claim was denied.,The veteran has been diagnosed with PTSD and the in-service stressors are considered to be related to service.

The Board has determined that the veteran does not have PTSD, and therefore service connection for this condition is denied.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claim for service connection for a psychiatric disability, to include PTSD, requires further development due to unverified stressors and need for a VA examination.

The Board has granted service connection for PTSD and fibromyalgia, finding that the veteran's symptoms are related to her active service.

The Board has remanded the case for further development due to inadequate notice under the VCAA.

The Board denied service connection for PTSD because the veteran's stressor accounts were not credible and there was no supporting evidence of an in-service event.

The veteran's PTSD has not been shown to result in occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity, thus the claim for an initial rating in excess of 30 percent is denied.

The veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, basal cell carcinoma, and cardiac disabilities were denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a finding of in-service exposure to herbicides or other causative factors.

The veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for a 100 percent evaluation of PTSD was denied as there is no evidence that the claim was filed prior to February 3, 2004.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the veteran's claimed in-service stressors. The AMC is instructed to obtain records of PTSD treatment since April 2005, ask for specific information about his purported stressors, and seek verification from the JSRRC.

The Board granted an effective date of December 10, 2003 for the grant of service connection for PTSD and TDIU rating based on receipt of corrected military records.