PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) decisions — 2022

The Veteran's service-connected PTSD has rendered him unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation, leading to the grant of TDIU.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the Veteran's claimed acquired psychiatric disorders, including PTSD and unspecified depressive disorder. The VA needs to provide new opinions on whether these conditions are related to service.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for PTSD and an acquired psychiatric disability, including adjustment disorder with depressive features and anxiety due to incomplete development of evidence.

The Board has denied an increased rating for right wrist sprain and remanded other service connection claims. Additional examinations are needed to assess the severity of left elbow olecranon bursitis, knee disability, back disability, neuropathy of hands/feet, bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, shoulder disability, eye disability, and acquired psychiatric disorder.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's PTSD diagnosis and its relation to his military service. The Veteran is seeking service connection for PTSD, but a VA opinion is needed to determine if he meets the criteria for this condition.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to service-connected disabilities, finding that his service-connected conditions did not preclude him from securing and maintaining substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran's PTSD has been granted a 100% disability rating effective September 6, 2022, due to total occupational and social impairment.

The Veteran's PTSD is rated at 70 percent for the period prior to January 14, 2020 and a separate rating of 20 percent for left lower extremity radiculopathy from June 11, 2020 to April 9, 2021. The Veteran's PTSD is denied for ratings in excess of 70 percent since January 14, 2020 and a rating in excess of 20 percent for right lower extremity radiculopathy.

The Board has remanded the case due to missing service personnel records and the need for further development regarding the Veteran's claimed psychiatric disorders, including PTSD. The examiner is asked to determine if these conditions are related to service or secondary to a service-connected disability.

The Veteran's cause of death was listed as aspiration pneumonia. The appellant claimed the Veteran had PTSD and suffered from six strokes, but these claims were not sufficient to establish service connection for the cause of death or a total disability rating due to service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have rendered him unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation prior to December 3, 2016. The Board granted the Veteran TDIU for this period.

The Veteran withdrew his appeals for increased ratings of 70% for PTSD and 30% for IHD, resulting in the dismissal of these claims.

The Veteran's claims for increased PTSD ratings and TDIU prior to January 4, 2020 are being remanded due to the need for additional development of his VA treatment records.

The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for diabetes mellitus, type II, chronic headaches, and an acquired psychiatric disorder including PTSD to include as secondary to a service-connected disability due to inextricably intertwined issues with the claim of service connection for obstructive sleep apnea.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD was denied because there is no diagnosis of PTSD by a VA provider, despite the Veteran having a private examiner's diagnosis and a conceded stressor.

The Veteran's anxiety disorder with PTSD and bipolar disorder was granted a 70% rating effective August 12, 2021. The TDIU claim prior to this date is dismissed as moot.

The Veteran's PTSD was granted a rating of 50 percent effective from February 1, 2018 through March 12, 2020.

The Veteran's claim for a rating of 10 percent for residuals of scar on the right lower leg from January 11, 2022, and no earlier, is granted. Service connection for PTSD and depression is also granted, but service connection for other conditions like a bilateral foot disorder, neck or cervical spine disorder, sleep apnea, and gastritis are denied.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, PTSD, and unspecified personality disorder. The Board found that the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of these conditions and that his personality disorder is not related to service.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for a lumbosacral spine disorder, bilateral patellofemoral pain syndrome of the knees, and an acquired psychiatric disorder other than PTSD are being remanded due to inadequate analysis regarding the presumption of soundness.