PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) decisions — 2013

The Board has decided to remand the case for additional development, including providing proper notice regarding evidence from sources other than service records and obtaining VA treatment records. The Veteran's psychiatric disorders will also be evaluated by a VA examiner.

The Board has reopened the claims for service connection for low back pain and headaches due to new and material evidence. However, further development is needed prior to adjudication of these issues.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for specially adapted housing or a special home adaptation grant due to his inability to use braces, crutches, canes, or a wheelchair as a normal mode of locomotion.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including PTSD, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus, do not render him unemployable due to their severity alone. The combined disability rating is sufficient to support a finding of TDIU.

The Veteran does not have an innocently acquired psychiatric disability, to include PTSD, due to disease or injury that was incurred in or aggravated by active service.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for right knee, left knee, and low back disorders as secondary to his service-connected bilateral pes planus. The claim for PTSD was also denied due to lack of credible supporting evidence that the claimed stressor actually occurred.

The Board has granted service connection for hypertension as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected diabetes mellitus type II, and assigned a 10 percent disability rating.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to the RO for additional development, including scheduling a VA examination and obtaining relevant medical records. The case will be readjudicated after this.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining additional medical records and providing a VA examination to assess the severity of the Veteran's service-connected acquired psychiatric disorder. The TDIU claim is also inextricably intertwined with the psychiatric disorder issue.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorders, including anxiety disorder and PTSD, are related to his military service and grants service connection for these conditions.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development due to outstanding service treatment records and VCAA notice issues.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including a VA examination to determine the current severity of the Veteran's PTSD and whether he is unemployable due to his service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's appeal for a higher rating for PTSD was denied, and the issue of TDIU was also denied. The Board found that his symptoms were more consistent with a 50 percent disability rating than a higher one.

The Board found that the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorders, including PTSD and major depressive disorder, are not related to his period of military service from March 1977 to March 1980.

The Veteran's appeal for an increased rating for his service-connected posttraumatic stress disorder is denied. The current evaluation of 30 percent does not meet the criteria for a higher rating.

The Board found that the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disability, to include PTSD and GAD, was not incurred in or aggravated by active service. The Board also found that his restless leg syndrome did not have a direct link to his military service.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD was denied as there is no credible supporting evidence of the alleged stressor event in-service, and he does not have a diagnosis of PTSD.

The Board denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder other than PTSD and the claim for TDIU. The evidence did not support a diagnosis of PTSD, despite corroborated stressor events.

The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining SSA records and VA/privately medical records. The Veteran is also seeking service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, diabetes mellitus, and glaucoma.

The Veteran's PTSD has been rated at 50 percent disabling, reflecting significant occupational and social impairment.