PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) decisions — 2010

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

The Veteran's claim for nonservice-connected pension benefits is being remanded due to insufficient evidence of permanent and total disability from non-service connected conditions. Additional records, including SSA disability benefit information and VA outpatient treatment records, are needed.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further action, including scheduling a videoconference hearing.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities (PTSD, bilateral tinnitus, and erectile dysfunction secondary to PTSD) render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the occurrence of in-service stressors and the link between current psychiatric disorders and service. The Veteran will be provided a comprehensive VA psychiatric examination to determine the nature, extent, onset, and etiology of any diagnosed psychiatric disorder.

The Veteran's service-connected bilateral knee disability and PTSD have caused him to lose the use of his lower extremities, allowing for the grant of specially adapted housing under Chapter 21.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities alone are not of such severity as to preclude him from obtaining and retaining substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including PTSD and diabetes with complications, render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation.

The Veteran's claims for service connection were denied, and the initial compensable evaluation for hypertension was also denied. The Board found no evidence to support the Veteran's claims for PTSD, right arm scar, skin rash, inguinal hernia, migraine headaches, residuals of a left knee injury, or low back disorder.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD was denied, and his claim for an increased rating for anxiety disorder was also denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a diagnosis of PTSD, and the current symptoms were more consistent with anxiety disorder.

The Veteran's tinea cruris is found to be service-connected, with the Board granting service connection based on a finding of continuity of symptomatology from active duty.

The Veteran's PTSD is rated at 70 percent, the highest available rating under the criteria for mental disorders. The claim for service connection of bilateral hearing loss and lung problems (histoplasmosis) was granted, but not reopened as requested by the Veteran. The issue regarding compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for removal of the right lung remains pending.

The Board has granted service connection for PTSD, but denied the remaining issues of bilateral knee disability and eye disorder.

The Board is remanding the case to obtain psychiatric treatment records from Lumberton Correctional Institute, as VA failed to comply with its duty to assist in obtaining these records. The Veteran's claim for service connection will be reconsidered.

The Veteran's service-connected PTSD is shown to have been productive of a disability picture that more nearly approximates occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas, such as work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking, or mood.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim and granted service connection for PTSD, finding that new and material evidence supports a conclusion that the Veteran's currently diagnosed PTSD was precipitated by stressors experienced during his Vietnam service.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining treatment records and a VA examination to assess the severity of his PTSD. The claim will be reconsidered with consideration given to whether a total disability evaluation based on individual unemployability is warranted.

The Veteran's claim of service connection for PTSD was denied as there is no evidence of a diagnosed disability that meets the criteria for PTSD.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claim for further development, including obtaining SSA records and a VA examination to determine the etiology of his psychiatric disabilities.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining Social Security Administration records and giving the Veteran an opportunity to respond.