PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) decisions — 2008

The Board determined that the veteran's bad conduct discharge was not due to insanity at the time of his offenses, and thus denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder.

The Board denied service connection for PTSD in 1989, and the RO granted it again in 1998 effective January 1993. The veteran's request for an earlier effective date is without legal merit.

The VA determined that the appellant does not have a diagnosed condition of PTSD due to an event in service, and thus denied his claim for service connection.

The VA has granted a 30 percent rating for PTSD, effective from August 30, 2004. The veteran's PTSD is currently manifested by occupational and social impairment with occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform tasks due to symptoms such as depressed mood, anxiety, suspiciousness, panic attacks, chronic sleep impairment, and mild memory loss.

The Board has granted service connection for PTSD and bilateral tinnitus, but denied the veteran's requests for higher initial ratings. The rating assigned for PTSD is 70 percent.

The Board has remanded the case for a new VA examination to determine the current level of severity caused by PTSD, and for additional development of the evidence.

The Board found that the veteran did not engage in combat and thus could not establish his service connection claim based on a verified stressor event. The veteran's reported stressors were deemed insufficient to meet the criteria for PTSD.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining copies of SSA decision and supporting medical documents.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for a personal hearing before a Veterans Law Judge at the RO via videoconference. The case will be returned to the Board after this is done.

The Board denied service connection for hearing loss, an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for PTSD, and an initial compensable rating for ulnar neuropathy of the right upper extremity. The veteran's claims were based on direct evidence rather than a presumption or secondary service connection.

The VA determined that the veteran's PTSD, primarily manifested by anger, irritability, anxiety, mild depression, and sleep impairment, does not warrant a rating in excess of 30 percent.

The Board has determined that additional evidence is needed to verify the veteran's claimed stressors and to determine if he meets the criteria for service connection for PTSD. The veteran will be given another opportunity to provide details about his alleged stressors, including when they occurred and where they took place.

The VA has determined that the veteran's service-connected PTSD warrants a 70 percent evaluation, reflecting occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas.

The VA determined that the veteran's PTSD does not warrant a higher initial rating than 30 percent.

The Board granted service connection for obsessive-compulsive disorder effective May 30, 2003. The veteran's claim was reopened with new and material evidence after his initial claims were denied in 1963 and 2002.

The veteran's post-traumatic stress disorder is currently rated at 30 percent, but the evidence does not meet the criteria for a higher rating as his symptoms do not equate to the level of disability required for a 50 percent rating.

The veteran's PTSD was initially rated at 10 percent from April 11, 1974. It was later increased to 30 percent effective October 7, 1999, and to 50 percent effective April 6, 2000.

The VA has determined that the veteran's PTSD does not warrant a higher disability rating, as it does not meet the criteria for a 70% evaluation.

The veteran's low back disorder and PTSD were not incurred in or aggravated by service, nor may they be presumed to have been so incurred. The veteran's scars of the right shoulder and neck, as well as his nonspecific dermatitis of both lower extremities, do not meet the criteria for a compensable rating.