PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) decisions — 2007

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to verify the veteran's claimed stressors and determine if he engaged in combat. The case will be remanded for further action.

The Board has remanded the veteran's claims for service connection due to insufficient evidence regarding the relationship between his current conditions and military service. The claims are being returned to the RO for further development.

The Board has determined that the veteran's PTSD warrants a 50 percent disability rating, reflecting significant impairment in social and occupational functioning.

The Board denied the appellant's claim for service connection for the cause of her husband's death, finding that there was no competent medical evidence linking any in-service condition to his death from metastatic lung cancer.

The veteran's PTSD is rated at 30 percent, reflecting occupational and social impairment due to chronic sleep disturbance. The issue of service connection for bilateral hearing loss remains unresolved.

The Board has determined that there is insufficient evidence to establish service connection for PTSD based on the veteran's claimed in-service stressors. The case is being remanded for further development, including verification of the alleged stressors and a VA psychiatric examination.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining SSA records and giving the veteran an opportunity to submit private treatment records.

The Board denied service connection for PTSD and a left knee disability, as well as an increased rating for the right knee disability. The veteran's right knee disability is currently rated at 10 percent.

The veteran's service-connected PTSD is manifested by depressed mood, anxiety, anger, fatigue, recurrent thoughts, nightmares, sleep impairment, social isolation, increased arousal, irritability, hypervigilance, low self-esteem, hopelessness, problems with concentration, and suicidal ideation. The Board finds that the criteria for a 70 percent rating have been met.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development due to insufficient information about the veteran's claimed stressors and incomplete medical records.

The veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD was denied by the Board in December 2005. The case was appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC), but because the veteran died during the appeal process, CAVC vacated the Board's decision and dismissed the appeal.

The VA denied a higher initial disability rating for the veteran's PTSD, finding that his condition only warrants a 30 percent evaluation based on occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform occupational tasks.

The Board found that there was no evidence of PTSD being incurred in service and thus denied the claim for service connection for the cause of death.

The Board found that the veteran is not entitled to an effective date earlier than August 31, 1998 for the assignment of his TDIU due to lack of valid claims prior to this date and insufficient evidence showing unemployability.

The Board has granted an effective date of May 28, 1986 for the award of service connection and a 100 percent evaluation for PTSD. This decision is based on the receipt of new evidence that supported the veteran's claim.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD and major depressive disorder, and for hypertension, to include as secondary to an acquired psychiatric disorder. The evidence did not establish a link between these conditions and service.

The Board found that the veteran does not have PTSD that is attributable to service, as there was no verified stressor and the diagnosis of PTSD was based on current symptoms rather than a specific in-service event.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD and increased rating for duodenal ulcer, finding that there was no credible supporting evidence to corroborate his claimed in-service stressors.

The Board found that the veteran's hypertension, infertility, and right eye disability are not related to service or a service-connected condition.,Specifically, the evidence did not show any manifestations of these conditions during active duty. The VA examinations indicated that the veteran's current conditions were due to refractive errors rather than service.

The VA determined that there is no competent medical evidence of PTSD, and thus denied the veteran's claim for service connection.