PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) decisions — 2009

The Board is remanding the case for further development and consideration due to the need for additional evidence regarding the veteran's claimed in-service stressors.

The Board denied service connection for residuals of a left leg injury, a low back disability, blackouts, a psychiatric disorder (anxiety neurosis and depression), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as new and material evidence was not received to reopen the claims, and no evidence showed that any current disabilities were incurred in or caused by active service.

The Board grants service connection for PTSD, as the evidence is at least in equipoise regarding a current diagnosis of PTSD related to service.

The veteran's PTSD has been manifested by occupational and social impairment with no more than an occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform occupational tasks, based on symptoms of hypervigilance, depressed mood, anxiety, and some memory and judgment impairment. Disability due to PTSD does not approach a level of severity that would result in occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity.

The veteran withdrew his appeal for a higher rating for PTSD, and the issue is dismissed.

The appeal was dismissed due to the veteran's death.

The appeal is remanded to the RO for further development of evidence regarding the veteran's claimed in-service stressors.

The veteran's appeal for an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for PTSD was denied because the earliest possible effective date, based on the procedural history, is January 16, 2002.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for higher initial ratings and earlier effective dates for PTSD, service connection for sleep apnea, heart disability, onychomycosis, lipomas, and left foot and ankle disability. However, it granted a 70 percent rating for PTSD as of May 3, 2006, due to worsening symptoms.

The veteran's service connection for PTSD was granted, as the evidence supports a diagnosis of PTSD related to stressful experiences he reported undergoing during his service in Vietnam.

The case is remanded for further development and readjudication of the veteran's claims.

The Board found that the veteran had not submitted new and material evidence to reopen any of his claims for service connection for PTSD, tinnitus, hearing loss, residuals of malaria, or gastritis.

The Board denied service connection for PTSD as the veteran's reported in-service stressors were not corroborated and there was no evidence linking his current condition to an in-service event.

The Board remands the case for additional development, including a VA psychiatric examination to determine the current severity of the veteran's PTSD.

The veteran's PTSD is not shown to warrant a rating higher than 30 percent, as the evidence does not demonstrate occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity.

The Board denied service connection for PTSD due to a lack of verified in-service stressors and denied service connection for tinea versicolor as it was pre-existing and aggravated during active military service.

The veteran's PTSD has been found to be 70 percent disabling, based on ongoing symptoms of depression, difficulty sleeping due to nightmares, flashbacks, intrusive thoughts, panic attacks, irritability, exaggerated startle response, hypervigilance, problems with concentration, social isolation, suicidal ideations, psychomotor retardation, difficulty concentrating, and Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scores ranging from 39-45.

The Board denied service connection for tinnitus as there was no evidence of the condition during or shortly after service, and no continuity of symptoms. The claim for PTSD was remanded for further development.

The Board denied service connection for a psychiatric disability, to include bipolar disorder and PTSD, as well as hepatitis C, finding that the conditions pre-existed service and were not aggravated by military service.

The veteran withdrew his appeal for service connection for PTSD, and the Board dismissed the claim. The claims for increased ratings for Reiter's syndrome of both shoulders were denied.