PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) decisions — 2008

The Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) has determined that the veteran does not have PTSD and therefore, service connection for PTSD is denied.

The Board has determined that the veteran's PTSD is related to his service, specifically his role as a door gunner in Vietnam and stressors such as medivacing wounded soldiers, seeing children killed, and stepping on a booby trap. As a result, the claim for service connection for PTSD is granted.

The veteran's request for a video conference hearing before the Board has been scheduled, and he is being given an opportunity to reschedule it at a more convenient location. The case will be remanded due to this scheduling issue.

The Board has determined that the veteran's PTSD is related to his military service and granted service connection for this condition.

The veteran's PTSD is rated at 70 percent, which meets the schedular requirements for a TDIU rating. A compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss and a higher rating for PTSD are denied.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded to obtain missing VA medical records and to schedule him for a psychiatric examination to determine the nature, severity, and relationship of his service-connected PTSD and depression.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the veteran's claimed in-service stressors and a need for further research into his exposure at Da Nang Air Base.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded for an updated VA examination to assess the severity of his PTSD and for obtaining recent medical records.

The Board has determined that the evidence is in equipoise, and therefore service connection for PTSD is granted.

The veteran's PTSD has been rated at 50 percent since October 31, 2004. The rating is based on the symptoms of hypervigilance, impaired judgment, panic attacks, nightmares, and depression.

The Board denied service connection for dizziness, peripheral neuropathy, and benign prostatic hypertrophy. Service connection was granted for left ear hearing loss.

The veteran's application for RH insurance was denied because he has a history of multiple nonservice-connected cerebral vascular accidents, which rendered him ineligible for the program.

The veteran's claims for bilateral hallux valgus, residuals of a back injury, sensory peripheral neuropathy, and nervous twitches were denied as new and material evidence was not received. The claim for PTSD resulted in a full grant of benefits.

The veteran's PTSD is currently rated at 10 percent, and the Board has ordered a remand to assess whether his condition warrants an increased rating.

The veteran's service-connected PTSD has been manifested by mood disturbances such as depression and irritability; insomnia; significant memory impairment; anxiety attacks more than once a week; difficulty with social interaction; and social isolation, resulting in considerable social and industrial impairment. The Board grants the benefit sought under the 'benefit-of-the-doubt' rule.

The veteran's service connected disabilities preclude him from performing gainful employment for which his education and occupational experience would otherwise qualify him, thus the TDIU is granted.

The veteran is granted a 100 percent disability evaluation for PTSD from February 16, 1990.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for an earlier effective date of April 30, 2003 for a schedular 100 percent rating for PTSD.

The Board denied the veteran's claim of service connection for PTSD due to insufficient evidence regarding his claimed in-service stressors and failure to present verifiable information.

The Board has reopened the veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder due to new evidence. However, it denied both PTSD and the acquired psychiatric disorder claims as there is no credible evidence of in-service stressors or a nexus between current symptoms and service.