PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) decisions — 2023

The Board has determined that additional development is needed for the claims regarding PTSD ratings and effective dates, as well as TDIU prior to August 16, 2019. The Veteran's service-connected PTSD will be evaluated further, and his entitlement to special monthly compensation based on housebound criteria will also be reconsidered.

The Board granted a 100 percent rating for PTSD effective June 1, 2021. The Veteran's symptoms have resulted in total occupational and social impairment.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, including PTSD, depression, and anxiety, has been reopened. Service connection is granted for tinnitus and RLE radiculopathy effective May 25, 2016. The claims for right-hand, left-hand disabilities, and bilateral hand conditions are remanded.

The Board has remanded the claims due to additional procedural development being required, including issuing a Supplemental Statement of the Case (SSOC) that addresses all evidence received since the June 2019 SOC.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to new and material evidence, as well as for her back and right hip disabilities. The TDIU claim is also being remanded.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to address the Veteran's claims for service connection, including obtaining addendum VA medical opinions and reviewing all relevant records.

The Veteran's hypertension is granted a 10 percent rating prior to May 24, 2022 and denied for any increased rating. The issue of service connection for PTSD has been remanded.,The Board will attempt to corroborate the Veteran's claimed stressors and schedule him for a VA examination to determine if he has PTSD and its etiology.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD due to military sexual trauma is reopened, and the case is remanded for further development and an examination.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection are remanded due to the need for additional examinations and opinions regarding her conditions.

The appeal regarding compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for right knee surgery residuals is dismissed, and service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder (PTSD and MDD) is granted.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD due to a personal assault during military service, finding that there is no current diagnosis of PTSD related to the in-service personal assault. The Veteran had already been granted service connection for an unspecified depressive disorder.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD and Adjustment Disorder with Mixed Anxiety and Depressed Mood, finding that there was no credible evidence to support the claimed in-service stressors.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions have been denied. However, his claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder (previously claimed as PTSD) has been reopened and granted.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a back disability has been reopened and remanded.,The Veteran's claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and respiratory disorder have also been reopened and remanded.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not preclude him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation prior to May 16, 2011. The Board denied entitlement to TDIU and SMC at the housebound rate due to lack of substantial evidence showing marginal employment.

The Board has decided to remand the cases for further examination and opinion regarding the Veteran's PTSD and MDD, as there is insufficient evidence in the record to determine their etiology.

The Board has dismissed the Veteran's claims for effective dates prior to July 18, 2018, for service connection of left and right lower extremity radiculopathy and lumbosacral strain superimposed on degenerative joint and disc disease. The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for PTSD and TDIU are remanded.

The Veteran's request to reopen service connection for a mood disorder, polysubstance abuse (claimed as nervous condition and PTSD) has been granted. The evidence received since the last denial indicates that the Veteran was newly diagnosed with PTSD based on an in-service stressor.,The Veteran's request to reopen service connection for a back disability has also been granted. New medical records indicate a diagnosis of spondyloarthritis, which pertains to a prior evidentiary deficiency regarding a diagnosed disability.

The Veteran's claim for an initial rating in excess of 70 percent for PTSD is denied.,The Veteran's claim for an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for tinnitus is denied.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss is denied.,The Veteran's claims for effective dates earlier than February 26, 2018 for the grant of service connection for PTSD, IBS, a back disability, radiculopathy (sciatic) of the left lower extremity (LLE), and tinnitus are all denied.,The Veteran's claim for TDIU is remanded.

A rating of 70 percent for PTSD is granted. The claim to readjudicate service connection for sleep apnea is granted, but the matter is remanded due to insufficient evidence.