PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) decisions — 2017

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current diagnosis of PTSD is related to an in-service stressor involving a car accident resulting in the death of a fellow service member, and thus service connection for PTSD is granted.

The Board has granted an effective date of July 24, 1979 for the grant of service connection for PTSD. The Veteran's original claim was received on that date.

The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder has been productive of occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas such as work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking, or mood throughout the period of the claim.,Throughout the period of the claim, the evidence is at least in equipoise as to whether the Veteran has met the threshold percentage requirements for a TDIU due to his service-connected acquired psychiatric disorder.

The Veteran's cervical spine disability and PTSD have not been found to be related to service, and the current ratings for both conditions are denied.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities meet the schedular requirement for assignment of a TDIU and are reasonably shown to render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation.

From May 21, 2015 to the present, the Veteran's PTSD has resulted in total occupational and social impairment.,Prior to April 20, 2007, the Veteran was employed but his PTSD did not result in unemployability.

The Veteran's PTSD was rated at 30 percent prior to December 21, 2007. From December 21, 2007, the disability rating increased to 50 percent.

The Board denied an increased disability rating for PTSD and did not address the issue of a total disability rating due to individual unemployability based on service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's PTSD is currently manifested by occasional sleep impairment, mild memory loss, situational anxiety, and minimal effect on social and occupational functioning. The VA adjudicator has determined that the symptoms do not warrant a higher rating.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal regarding the issues of entitlement to an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for coronary artery disease, entitlement to a higher initial rating for coronary artery disease, and entitlement to an extraschedular rating for PTSD.

The Veteran's PTSD resulted in total occupational and social impairment, warranting a 100 percent evaluation.

The Veteran is entitled to a TDIU effective August 10, 2010, due to his service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's appeal has been withdrawn and the case is dismissed as there are no remaining issues for review.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities of postoperative prostate cancer, PTSD, diabetes, tinnitus, and left ear hearing loss are reasonably shown to be of such nature and severity as to prevent him from maintaining substantially gainful employment. Therefore, a TDIU rating is granted.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for additional development and consideration, including obtaining updated VA and private treatment records. The TDIU claim is inextricably intertwined with the PTSD claim.

The Veteran's service-connected PTSD did not render him unemployable prior to July 17, 2008. The Acting Director of Compensation Service concluded that the Veteran was not unemployable due solely to his PTSD and denied TDIU on an extraschedular basis.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not preclude him from maintaining substantially gainful employment, and the Board finds that TDIU is not warranted.

The Board found that the reduction from a 70% disability rating to zero percent for PTSD with Major Depressive Disorder was proper as it had been in effect for more than five years.,The Veteran's TDIU claim since April 1, 2016 is denied as he did not meet the schedular rating requirement for a TDIU.

The Veteran's appeal has been withdrawn, and the case is dismissed.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for a videoconference hearing and issues related to service connection for PTSD.