PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) decisions — 2007

The VA has determined that the veteran's anxiety disorder with PTSD symptoms is currently rated at a 30 percent disability level, reflecting moderate impairment in social and occupational functioning.

The veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD, bilateral hearing loss, and frostbite residuals were denied as there was no current disability found to be related to his military service.

The Board has reopened the veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD due to new evidence provided since the May 2000 rating decision. The case is now remanded for further development.

The Board has granted a 10 percent disability rating for the veteran's PTSD from May 19, 1971, through September 29, 2002.

The Board found that the veteran does not have service connection for any of the claimed conditions, including PTSD, elevated liver function tests, left knee pain, shortness of breath, insomnia, night sweats, and fatigue, or arthralgias. The evidence did not support a finding of chronicity in service or continuity of symptomatology thereafter.

The VA determined that the veteran's PTSD warrants a 50 percent disability rating, which is the current assigned rating.

The Board has reopened the veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD due to new evidence confirming in-service stressors. The claim is granted as there is a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim.

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

The Board found that the veteran did not engage in combat and thus could not be presumed to have experienced a stressor related to his service. The VA examiner concluded that the veteran does not meet the DSM-IV criteria for PTSD, and therefore denied the claim.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including a VA psychiatric examination to determine if the veteran meets the criteria for PTSD and whether its current manifestation is related to service. The stressor in this case is exposure to multiple mortar fire attacks at Phan Rang Air Base during his tour in Vietnam.

The veteran's service-connected PTSD was found to be manifested by reduced reliability and productivity, with symptoms such as flattened affect, difficulty understanding complex commands, and impairment of short-term memory. The Board determined that the current disability picture does not warrant a rating in excess of 50 percent prior to July 26, 2005 or in excess of 70 percent from that date.

The Board found that the veteran does not have PTSD related to his military service and denied the claim.

The Board has determined that the veteran does not have a current diagnosis of PTSD or asbestosis, and there is insufficient evidence to establish service connection for these conditions. The acquired psychiatric disability (generalized anxiety disorder) was found not related to service.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD as there was no verified in-service stressor event and the threshold requirements were not met.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development due to the need for updated VA records since June 2005.

The Board finds that the veteran's PTSD is related to his service in Vietnam and grants service connection for this condition.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for a bilateral knee disorder and a psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD. The Board found that there was no evidence of chronic right or left knee disability in service, and that any current knee disability is less likely as not related to service. For his psychiatric disorder claim, the Board determined that there was insufficient verified stressor events in service to support a diagnosis of PTSD, and thus denied both claims.

The Board has determined that the veteran's PTSD warrants a 50 percent disability rating, as his symptoms do not meet or approximate the criteria for a higher evaluation.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded to the RO for scheduling a hearing before a Veterans Law Judge at the Los Angeles, California RO. The issues of whether new and material evidence has been received to reopen a claim for service connection for lumbosacral strain with limitation of motion of the lumbar spine, entitlement to service connection for depression, entitlement to service connection for PTSD, and entitlement to service connection for diabetes mellitus, type II are pending.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining VA medical records and securing Social Security Administration (SSA) records. The veteran's PTSD diagnosis includes both in-service stressors as well as domestic, financial, and health-related stressors, necessitating a VA examination to obtain a DSM-IV compliant diagnosis.