PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) decisions — 2015

The Veteran is entitled to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability for the period from December 21, 2006, to August 18, 2009, due to his service-connected PTSD and other disabilities.

The Board has remanded the case for further action, including scheduling a Travel Board hearing.

The Veteran's PTSD warrants at least a 50 percent rating throughout, reflecting significant symptoms including passive suicidal thoughts and social isolation.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including PTSD, lumbar strain, diabetes mellitus type II, right hip condition, and scars from a shell fragment wound of the right lower extremity with retained foreign body, have rendered him unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development to obtain medical opinions regarding the origins of his bilateral pes planus, as well as increased ratings for PTSD with a major depressive disorder and hand tremors. The TDIU claim will also be addressed.

The Veteran's service-connected PTSD is being remanded for a new VA examination to assess the current severity of her condition, as the last examination was more than 5 years ago.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to obtain additional evidence and conduct further examinations. The issues of service connection for sleep apnea, PTSD rating, and TDIU are currently under review.

The Veteran's claim for an initial disability rating in excess of 30 percent for PTSD and for an effective date prior to April 9, 2010, for the grant of service connection for PTSD was denied. The Board found that VA could not have obtained relevant records when it initially decided the claim due to the Veteran's failure to provide sufficient information.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD was denied. The claims of entitlement to increased evaluation for right knee disability and TDIU are pending.

The Veteran's PTSD has been rated at the highest available rating of 70 percent since August 20, 2012.

The Veteran's major depressive disorder is related to her service, and the Board has granted service connection for this condition. The issue of service connection for any other acquired psychiatric disability including PTSD remains pending.

The Veteran's PTSD was manifested by symptoms that included reexperiencing his traumatic in-service stressors, including nightmares and intrusive memories; arousal symptoms, including hypervigilance; depression, avoidance, and isolation. These symptoms were of the type, extent, frequency, or severity (as appropriate) indicative of no more than occupational and social impairment with occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform occupational tasks.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining updated VA treatment records and a VA examination to assess the severity of his PTSD. Additionally, an upper trapezius strain will be evaluated by another VA examiner.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records and scheduling the Veteran for VA examinations to evaluate his service-connected conditions.

The Veteran's TDIU claim is granted due to his service-connected disabilities, but the case is remanded for additional development including obtaining medical records and a vocational rehabilitation folder.

The Veteran's anxiety disorder is currently rated at 30 percent, which meets the criteria for a higher initial rating. The left knee disability remains at 10 percent.

The Board has remanded the case for a VA examiner to provide an opinion on the baseline severity level of sleep apnea disability prior to any aggravation by PTSD. The Veteran's claim will be readjudicated after this additional development.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to properly adjudicate the Veteran's claims, including obtaining a VA examination and ensuring all pertinent records are associated with the case file.

The Board is remanding the case for additional development, including obtaining updated VA treatment records and providing the Veteran with a new VA psychiatric examination to determine if any identified acquired psychiatric disorder (other than posttraumatic stress disorder) at least as likely as not had its origin during his period of active military service.

The Board has found new and material evidence to reopen the claims for service connection of a low back disability with neurological impairment, an organizational delusional disorder (post head trauma), and PTSD. These claims are now being remanded for further development.