PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) decisions — 2009

The Board found that the Veteran's claimed in-service stressor did not occur, and thus his posttraumatic stress disorder is not related to service.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD was denied, and his initial compensable rating for hearing loss remains denied.

The Veteran's appeal for a higher rating than 70 percent for PTSD from August 8, 2002 onwards has been dismissed due to the death of the Veteran.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for an earlier effective date and a higher initial disability rating for PTSD, finding that her claim was not properly appealed in 1989.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for additional development, including a VA examination or medical opinion on his claim of service connection for alcohol dependency secondary to posttraumatic stress disorder.

The Board has recharacterized the Veteran's service connection claim as entitlement to service connection for a psychiatric disorder, including PTSD. The case is remanded for further development of his VA medical records and for a VA psychiatric examination.

The Board is remanding the case to the RO for further development and readjudication, including scheduling a VA psychiatric examination to determine if the Veteran's PTSD is related to his military service.

The Board denied service connection for PTSD, bilateral hip residuals, post-operative residuals of bilateral hip replacements, stomach disorder with history of chronic pancreatitis, and hepatitis C. The Veteran's claims were not supported by competent medical evidence linking these conditions to his military service.

The Veteran's PTSD with MDD is rated at 70 percent, effective from November 14, 2005. The Board also granted TDIU based on the combined impact of his service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's PTSD is found to be service-connected due to a credible account of personal assault. The left wrist disorder and right wrist disorder are not service-connected as there is no evidence linking them to military service or any incident therein.

The Veteran's PTSD is currently rated at 30 percent, and the Board finds that an increased rating to a higher disability evaluation is not warranted.

The Veteran's claim for PTSD was reopened and granted effective March 5, 1993 based on new evidence showing his participation in combat. The effective date of the grant is set at March 20, 1989, which is when he initially filed his claim.

The Veteran's posttraumatic stress disorder is not manifested by occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas, resulting in a finding that the criteria for a disability rating in excess of 50 percent have not been met.

The Board has remanded the case for further development to attempt to corroborate the Veteran's claimed in-service stressors and activities of his Vietnam unit.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to his active duty service.

The Veteran's service connection claim for PTSD is granted as his symptoms align with the DSM-IV criteria for PTSD, and he has provided credible testimony regarding his in-service stressors.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for further development, including obtaining a medical opinion regarding the date of onset of his PTSD and addressing the issues related to higher ratings.

The Veteran's claim for higher ratings for PTSD was denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a compensable rating or an evaluation in excess of 50 percent for PTSD during the relevant periods.

The Veteran's PTSD is rated at 30 percent, and his claim for service connection of Multiple Sclerosis remains pending due to the need to locate relevant medical records from Kaiser Permanente.

The Veteran's PTSD symptoms do not meet the criteria for an initial rating in excess of 50 percent.,The Veteran developed a chronic mechanical low back pain disability during service and has been granted service connection with a 50% rating effective December 26, 2000.