PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) decisions — 2017

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for heart disorders, headaches, cervical spine disorders, lumbar spine disorders, acquired psychiatric/mental disorders (including PTSD, depression, anxiety), and sleep disorders. The Board found no evidence to support a direct link between these conditions and service.

The Veteran's PTSD has not resulted in total occupational and social impairment, but his service-connected PTSD precludes him from maintaining substantially gainful employment. The claim for an increased rating for PTSD is denied, while the TDIU claim is granted.

The Veteran's PTSD is currently rated at 50 percent, effective from October 23, 2015. The rating agency found that the Veteran experiences occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity due to symptoms such as flattened affect, circumstantial speech, panic attacks more than once a week, difficulty understanding complex commands, impaired short- and long-term memory, impaired judgment, impaired abstract thinking, disturbances of motivation and mood, and difficulty establishing effective work and social relationships.

The Veteran's PTSD is rated at 70 percent, the maximum schedular rating for this condition.,The Veteran filed a valid Notice of Disagreement (NOD) regarding his entitlement to SMC at the housebound rate.

The Board finds that the Veteran's diagnosed PTSD is related to service and grants entitlement to service connection for PTSD.

The Veteran's PTSD is rated at 50 percent since December 28, 2015. The appeal for other conditions related to service connection and exposure has been granted.

The Veteran's PTSD is at least as likely as not etiologically related to events during his active duty service, and the Board finds that he should be granted service connection for PTSD.

The Board found that an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and substance abuse disorder, was not manifest during service or within one year of service. The preponderance of the evidence fails to establish a link between any current psychiatric condition and service.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining additional medical records and a VA examination to determine if the Veteran's current psychiatric disorders are related to his military service.

The Veteran's service-connected PTSD symptoms do not more nearly approximate total occupational and social impairment, so the claim for a higher initial rating remains in appellate status.

The Veteran's PTSD, thoracolumbar spine disability, and right hand disability are rated at their current levels. The claim for service connection of a left ankle disability is denied as there is no evidence of a current diagnosis.

The Veteran's PTSD prior to November 21, 2014 was manifested by occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform occupational tasks due to symptoms such as depressed mood, anxiety, panic attacks, chronic sleep impairment, and some difficulty concentrating.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of PTSD or any other psychiatric disorder related to service, and therefore denied his claim for service connection.

The Veteran meets the schedular criteria for TDIU and his service-connected disabilities preclude him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation.

The Board has remanded the case for a Travel Board hearing before a Veterans Law Judge of the Board at the RO. The Veteran's appeal is now pending again due to scheduling issues.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's acquired psychiatric conditions, including PTSD and depressive disorder, preexisted service. The in-service stressors did not cause or permanently aggravate these conditions beyond their natural progression.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and depression, anal fistulas, gall bladder disease, cirrhosis of the liver, and hepatitis C were not incurred in or caused by active service. The back disability was also denied.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to allow for additional development, including the review of VA psychiatric treatment records and a new VA examination.

The Veteran's claim for a TDIU prior to June 10, 2013 is dismissed as moot due to the assignment of a total schedular rating for PTSD and concurrent award of SMC at the housebound rate.

The Veteran's PTSD is rated at 70 percent, effective July 9, 2014. The TDIU claim was also granted.