PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) decisions — 2008

The Board has remanded the veteran's claims for service connection due to insufficient evidence and additional development is required.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD due to a lack of verified stressors and a valid diagnosis based on those unverified stressors.

The veteran's PTSD is currently rated at 70 percent, effective October 26, 1996. The claim for TDIU prior to that date remains pending.

The veteran's PTSD causes significant impairment, but not to the extent that it warrants a higher rating. The VA has granted an initial rating of 30 percent for PTSD and now grants an additional 20 percent based on the severity of his symptoms.

The Board found that the veteran's claimed stressors could not be verified, and thus service connection for PTSD cannot be established.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for bipolar disorder and PTSD, finding that there is no competent medical evidence linking these conditions to his period of active duty.

The veteran's claims for increased ratings and a total disability rating based on individual unemployability were denied. The RO found that the evidence did not meet the criteria for higher ratings under the applicable diagnostic codes.

The veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for service connection of PTSD is granted, but no earlier than May 13, 1993.

The veteran's service-connected disabilities, which are rated at a combined level of 80 percent, are shown to be productive of an overall level social and industrial incapacity as to be found to preclude the veteran from performing all forms of substantially gainful employment.

The Board has remanded the veteran's claims for additional development due to incomplete medical records and need for further examination.

The veteran's left shoulder disorder is granted as secondary to his service-connected right shoulder disorder. Service connection for depleted uranium toxicity is denied due to lack of medical evidence. The veteran's PTSD is granted an increased rating to 50 percent.

The veteran's PTSD is rated at 50 percent, effective from the date of service connection.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded due to a failure to report for his scheduled Board hearing. A new opportunity for the veteran to testify at a Board hearing will be provided.

The Board has determined that an effective date of May 7, 2003 is warranted for the grant of a 70 percent evaluation for PTSD.

The veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD is being remanded due to the need for additional development, including verification of stressors and a VA examination.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for an earlier effective date of March 1, 2004 for a grant of Total Disability Rating Based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU). The decision found that it was not factually ascertainable prior to March 1, 2004 that the veteran was unable to obtain or maintain substantially gainful employment due to service-connected disabilities.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus. The evidence does not establish a link between these conditions and service.

The VA determined that the veteran's PTSD warrants a 30 percent evaluation, effective October 2004.

The Board has reopened the veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD due to new evidence submitted since the last final denial, and has granted service connection based on established in-service stressors. The veteran is now entitled to a rating for PTSD.

The veteran is seeking service connection for PTSD and residuals of injury to right little finger with hypesthesia. The case is being remanded for further development, including a VA psychiatric examination and consideration of the evidence.