PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) decisions — 2008

The Board has remanded the case due to issues not being addressed in the Statement of the Case and additional evidence added since the February 2007 statement of the case.

The Board has reopened the veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and PTSD. The evidence added to the record since previous decisions supports these claims.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD due to a lack of verified in-service stressors and insufficient supporting evidence.

The Board denied the veteran's claim of service connection for a chronic acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD. The Board found that there was no credible supporting evidence of in-service stressors and that the diagnoses of PTSD were not based on any verified, credible stressor from the veteran's active service.

The Board has ordered additional development to verify the veteran's claimed stressors and determine if they are sufficient to establish service connection for PTSD.

The veteran's PTSD is currently rated at 50 percent, the maximum schedular rating for this condition. The VA adjudicator found that his symptoms do not meet or approximate the criteria for a higher evaluation.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has not been submitted to reopen the veteran's claims for service connection for degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine and PTSD. As such, these claims remain denied.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD/depression, hepatitis C, and disabilities involving his lower extremities due to a lack of evidence supporting these claims.

The Board found that the veteran does not have a confirmed in-service stressor and therefore cannot establish service connection for post-traumatic stress disorder. The acquired psychiatric disorder was also denied as there is no evidence linking it to service.

The veteran's death was not caused by any service-connected disability.,The appellant is not eligible for DIC benefits under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1318 as the veteran did not meet the requirement of having been continuously rated totally disabled for a period of ten years prior to his death.

The veteran's PTSD has been manifested by symptoms such as sleep impairment, occasional nightmares and flashbacks, anxiety, irritability, startle reaction, hypervigilance, and mild-to-moderate social impairment. The current evaluation of 30 percent adequately compensates the veteran for his PTSD.

The Board denied service connection for right ear hearing loss disability, headache disability, and cardiovascular disease (claimed as secondary to PTSD).,Service connection was not granted for the veteran's post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to a lack of evidence showing it is related to his military service.

The Board found that the veteran's PTSD is manifested by depressed mood, anxiety, and some social impairment but not to a degree warranting an increased rating beyond 30 percent.

The veteran's claim for an increased evaluation of his service-connected PTSD is being remanded due to the need for a more contemporaneous VA examination.

The Board found that new and material evidence has been submitted to reopen the veteran's service connection claim for PTSD. The claim for a compensable evaluation for residuals of shrapnel fragment wound of the left leg remains denied.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD should be remanded due to incomplete evidence, specifically missing treatment records from a VA clinician in Newington, Connecticut.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining mental health records and providing a comprehensive examination to determine if the veteran meets the criteria for a diagnosis of PTSD.

The Board has ordered a remand to gather more information about the veteran's claimed in-service stressors and to provide another VA psychiatric examination. The goal is to determine if the veteran was exposed to any stressors during service, which would then be used to assess whether he meets the criteria for PTSD.

The Board found that the appellant's current psychiatric disabilities were not incurred or aggravated by service, and thus denied his claim for service connection.

The veteran's claims for service connection for variously diagnosed psychiatric disorder, chronic fatigue, and memory loss have been denied as there is no evidence to support a finding that these conditions are related to his military service or an undiagnosed illness.