PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) decisions — 2008

The Board is considering whether new and material evidence has been submitted to reopen the veteran's claim for service connection of PTSD. The decision will determine if the reopened claim should be granted or denied.

The veteran's claims for PTSD and low back disability are being remanded due to the need for additional evidence, including SSA records and supporting evidence of claimed stressors.

The VA has granted a 70 percent disability rating for the veteran's PTSD, effective December 22, 2005.

The Board has determined that further development is required to verify the veteran's claimed stressors and determine if he has PTSD due to service. The case is REMANDED for these purposes.

The veteran's PTSD is rated at 50 percent, the maximum schedular rating for this condition. The Board finds that his symptoms do not meet or approximate the criteria for a higher disability rating.

The Board has determined that the veteran's service-connected disabilities make it impossible for him to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation, thus granting a total rating based upon individual unemployability.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded for a Travel Board hearing at the RO.

The Board found that the veteran's alleged in-service stressors could not be verified, and thus denied his claim for service connection for PTSD.

The Board found that the veteran is entitled to a 70 percent initial schedular evaluation for PTSD, but none greater. The case was remanded for further procedural and evidentiary development regarding an extraschedular rating in excess of 70 percent.

The Board of Veterans' Appeals has determined that the veteran's PTSD was not caused by his active military service and therefore denied his claim for service connection.

The veteran's claims for increased disability ratings for PTSD and chronic left greater trochanteric bursitis were denied. The appeal is not about service connection at all, but rather the evaluation of existing conditions.

The Board found no current diagnosis of PTSD or a medical link between the veteran's claimed symptoms and his active service. The major depressive disorder was also not incurred in or by active service.

The Board has determined that the veteran's hiatal hernia with duodenitis warrants a 30 percent rating from August 9, 2006. The condition is manifested by daily abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, heartburn, and substernal esophageal pain.

The Board has remanded the case for further development due to missing Social Security Administration records. The veteran's claim of service connection for PTSD will be reconsidered after these records are obtained.

The veteran's PTSD was initially rated at 30 percent prior to September 19, 2005 and increased to 70 percent beginning September 20, 2005. Service connection for Multiple Sclerosis remains on appeal.

The Board found that an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for PTSD is not warranted, as the first claim was filed on June 14, 1993. The veteran's PTSD disability arose years before this initial claim.

The Board denied the veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for PTSD, finding that there was insufficient evidence to establish a link between his claimed stressors and his current PTSD.

The veteran's claim for an increased evaluation for PTSD remains pending and requires further development before the RO/AMC.

The veteran's appeal for an increased rating in excess of 50 percent for PTSD has been dismissed due to his failure to respond within a year to the VA's request for information and authorizations to secure records from private treatment providers.

The Board has granted the veteran's claim for service connection for a psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, anxiety disorder, and depressive disorder, due to sexual assault during his military service.