PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) decisions — 2014

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claimed psychiatric disorders, including PTSD, were not incurred in or aggravated by service and therefore denied his claims.

The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for a 100 percent rating for his service-connected psychiatric disorders is dismissed as the October 2000 decision granting such a rating was final.

The Board has ordered a remand to obtain updated VA treatment records and conduct a VA examination to determine if the Veteran's current psychiatric disorders, including PTSD, are related to his military service.

The Veteran's appeal to increase the initial rating for PTSD has been withdrawn, resulting in dismissal of this issue.

The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorders, including depression, anxiety disorder, and panic disorder, are found to be related to his service-connected PTSD. Service connection is granted for these conditions.

The Veteran's posttraumatic stress disorder has been productive of occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas, such as work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking or mood. The Board finds that the criteria for an initial rating of 70 percent have been met.

The Veteran's PTSD has been rated at 70 percent since March 13, 2013. The rating is based on the severity of symptoms such as nightmares, anxiety, difficulty sleeping, intrusive thoughts, constricted affect, feelings of anger, exaggerated startle response, depression, irritability, concentration and memory problems, and impairment of relationships with others.

The Veteran's service-connected PTSD does not render him unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation, thus his claim for TDIU is denied. The Veteran's tinnitus was not manifested during active duty or related to service.

The Board has granted service connection for PTSD. The gastrointestinal disorder claim is remanded as additional development is needed.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to fully consider the Veteran's claim for service connection for the cause of his death. This includes obtaining relevant medical records and requesting an opinion from a medical professional regarding whether any service-connected condition or herbicide exposure in service contributed substantially or materially to his death.

The Veteran's PTSD has been productive of occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity, but not to the extent that it would result in total occupational and social impairment.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, including PTSD, is being remanded due to inadequate VA examination and the need for additional development.

The Board has determined that further development is needed to determine if the Veteran's PTSD claim can be granted, and whether he meets the criteria for a TDIU on an extraschedular basis.

The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for PTSD was denied as there is no new and material evidence to reopen the previously denied claim, and the earliest date of claim was September 9, 2009.

The Board finds that the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of PTSD or another psychiatric disorder related to his service. As such, he is denied service connection for these conditions.

The Veteran's service-connected anxiety disorder was granted a disability rating of 50 percent effective October 28, 2010. The temporary total rating for treatment due to participation in the PPH program from November 7, 2011 to November 28, 2011 is also granted.

The Veteran's PTSD is currently rated at 50 percent, but the Board has determined that a new examination and additional development are needed before this rating can be finalized.

The Veteran's PTSD is manifested by occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas, including suicidal ideation, persistent hallucinations, memory problems, intrusive thoughts, nightmares, circumstantial thought, and an inability to develop meaningful relationships. The Board has determined that the criteria for a 70 percent evaluation have been met.

The Veteran's appeal involves multiple issues including service connection for TBI, PTSD, right ankle DJD, and cholecystectomy with residual scar. The case is being remanded to obtain additional records, conduct examinations, and review the claims file.

The Veteran's service-connected PTSD is found to have contributed substantially and materially to his death from high-grade urothelial cell carcinoma of the bladder.