PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) decisions — 2009

The Board found that the Veteran did not engage in combat with the enemy and there is insufficient credible supporting evidence to corroborate his claimed stressors. Therefore, service connection for PTSD was denied.

The VA determined that the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of PTSD and therefore denied his claim for service connection.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for a new VA examination and additional development of his Social Security Administration (SSA) records.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's PTSD is related to his military service and grants the claim for service connection.

The Board has determined that the veteran's current diagnoses of anxiety disorder and PTSD are related to his military service, including combat experiences in Vietnam. The decision grants service connection for these conditions.

The Board has reopened the claim for service connection for PTSD and granted it, finding that new and material evidence had been received and that the Veteran engaged in combat with the enemy, which supports a diagnosis of PTSD based on his claimed combat stressors.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has not been submitted to reopen the Veteran's previously denied claim of entitlement to service connection for PTSD. The issue of residuals of a cold injury, bilateral feet is still pending.

The Board has granted service connection for PTSD, finding that the Veteran's in-service assault stressor is supported by credible evidence and linked to his current diagnosis of PTSD.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining Social Security Administration records and VA medical records.

The Veteran's PTSD is currently rated at 50 percent, and the Board finds that it does not meet the criteria for a higher rating based on the symptoms presented.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining medical records and a medical opinion regarding whether service-connected conditions contributed to the Veteran's death.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder is being remanded due to the inability to locate his military records, which are necessary to verify the in-service stressor.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claimed psychiatric disability, including PTSD and major depression, is not service-connected as there is no credible evidence to support the occurrence of the in-service stressors. The preponderance of the evidence is against a finding that any of the claimed stressors actually occurred.

The Board found that the Veteran has a current diagnosis of an anxiety disorder with posttraumatic stress disorder features related to traumatic events in service, and granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder.

The Veteran's claims for skin disability, PTSD, and hypertension have been reopened. The claim for an acquired psychiatric disability to include PTSD and/or depression remains pending as new evidence has not established a link between the claimed stressors and current symptoms.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD is being remanded due to the need for additional records and further review.

The Veteran's PTSD has been manifested by social and occupational impairment with occasional decrease in work efficiency, but generally satisfactory functioning. The preponderance of the evidence is against finding symptoms such as flattened affect; circumstantial, circumlocutory, or stereotyped speech; panic attacks more than once a week; difficulty understanding complex commands; impaired judgment; and/or impaired abstract thinking.

The Veteran's PTSD is manifested by symptoms such as flattened affect, circumstantial speech, anxiety, disturbances of motivation and mood, and difficulty in establishing and maintaining effective work and social relationships. The Board has determined that the criteria for a 50 percent evaluation have been met.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have an acquired psychiatric disorder other than PTSD, and thus service connection for such a condition is denied.

The Veteran's claim for an effective date prior to February 3, 1997, for the grant of a total rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) is denied. The Veteran did not meet the schedular rating requirements for TDIU before March 18, 1993.