PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) decisions — 2024

The Board has expanded the claim to include service connection for an acquired psychiatric condition, to include PTSD. The AOJ is required to consider new evidence submitted by the Veteran regarding a Panamanian bus crash stressor and verify it.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD was denied because the new evidence submitted did not provide a verifiable in-service stressor, which is required to establish service connection.

The Veteran's claim for PTSD was granted with an effective date of March 28, 2017. The decision is based on new evidence provided after the initial denial in June 2017.

The Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for PTSD and migraine headaches have been dismissed as the February 2021 Board decision was a purely ministerial implementation of an earlier Board decision.

The Veteran's PTSD symptoms do not result in total occupational and social impairment, resulting in a denial of an initial disability rating in excess of 70 percent for PTSD. The matter of TDIU is remanded.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal, leaving no issues for the Board to consider.

The Board has restored the Veteran's disability rating for posttraumatic stress disorder from 100% to 50%, effective February 1, 2021. The reduction was improper due to a lack of demonstrated improvement in the Veteran's psychiatric condition.

The Veteran's appeal for an increased rating to 100% for PTSD, with unspecified depressive disorder, anxiety disorder and alcohol use disorder is dismissed.,The Veteran's appeal for a rating in excess of 30% for migraine headaches is dismissed.

The Veteran's PTSD is rated at 50% and his Osgood-Schlatter's disease of the right knee, flexion, is restored to a 10% rating. The increased ratings for PTSD and extension of the right knee are being remanded.

The Veteran's cause of death, respiratory failure, is found to be related to his service-connected conditions (Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, PTSD, tinnitus, and hypertension). The issues of Dependency and Indemnity Compensation under 38 USC 1151 and 38 USC 1318 are dismissed as moot due to the grant of service connection for the cause of death.

The Veteran's appeal for an effective date prior to April 20, 2013, for the award of a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) and eligibility for Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) under 38 U.S.C. Chapter 35 was denied due to her having been employed in substantially gainful occupations prior to that date.

The Veteran's TDIU claim for the period prior to March 15, 2023 is denied as there was no evidence showing he was unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment due to his service-connected conditions. The TDIU claim from March 15, 2023 onwards is dismissed as moot because a new claim for TDIU was filed and adjudicated after the original rating decision.

The Board dismissed the appeal regarding service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder, a lumbar disability, and a migraine disability due to the Veteran's withdrawal of the appeal.

The Board has reopened the claim of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, which was previously denied in August 2020. The Veteran's current diagnoses of PTSD and mental disorder not otherwise specified are related to in-service stressors as reported by him, and this evidence is considered probative. Therefore, service connection is granted.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) as secondary to his service-connected chronic posttraumatic stress disorder with depressive disorder, finding that OSA is proximately due to or aggravated by PTSD.

The Board dismissed the appeal as there was no valid fee decision for review, and thus the case is not a matter of controversy.

The Board denied the Veteran's request for an earlier effective date for a higher evaluation of PTSD from 30 percent to 100 percent, as there was no evidence of an increase in severity within one year prior to his claim.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD was granted as new and relevant evidence has been received, including a January 2020 private psychological evaluation that diagnosed PTSD in accordance with the DSM-5 criteria. The Board found that there is at least equipoise of evidence regarding whether the current PTSD diagnosis is related to an in-service stressor.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD is granted, and the issue of treatment purposes under Chapter 17 for unspecified depressive disorder with anxious distress is dismissed as moot due to the grant of service connection.

The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for service connection due to personal assault-related stressors, including PTSD, alcohol use disorder, and anti-social personality disorder. The case will be reviewed again by the AOJ with consideration of all relevant evidence.