PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) decisions — 2024

The appeal to reduce the disability rating for PTSD from 70% to 50% is dismissed because it was only a proposed reduction and no final decision has been made.

The Veteran's PTSD was manifested by psychiatric symptomatology resulting in occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform occupational tasks, but did not meet the criteria for a higher rating. The Board denied an initial rating in excess of 30 percent for PTSD prior to January 9, 2023.

The Veteran's service-connected conditions cause him to need the regular aid and attendance of another person to remain clean and presentable, and to protect him from the hazards and dangers incident to his daily environment. The Board has granted SMC based on the need for regular aid and attendance.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for a TDIU on a schedular basis. However, his PTSD prevents him from securing and following a substantially gainful occupation. The Board has referred the claim to the Under Secretary for Benefits or the Director of Compensation and Pension Services for consideration of an extraschedular rating due to marked interference with employment.

The Veteran's PTSD is rated at 50 percent, granting an initial rating in excess of the previous 30 percent. The decision acknowledges his symptoms but does not grant a higher rating.

The Veteran's appeals for service connection for PTSD, tinnitus, neuropathy in right lower leg to feet, and neuropathy in left lower leg to feet have been dismissed due to the Veteran's death.

The Veteran's appeal for a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss is denied.,The Veteran's appeal for an initial rating higher than 50 percent for PTSD is denied.,An effective date of March 26, 2011, for the assignment of a 50 percent rating for headaches is granted.,An initial rating of 100 percent for service-connected peripheral artery disease is granted.,An earlier effective date of June 10, 2011, for Dependents' Educational Assistance is granted.,An award of special monthly compensation (SMC) under 38 U.S.C. § 1114(s) effective June 10, 2011, is granted.,Earlier effective dates are remanded for service connection claims related to scars and tissue loss in the lower extremities.

The Veteran's PTSD is rated at a 70 percent disability rating, effective September 9, 2019. The Board found that the severity of his symptoms more nearly approximates occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, a back disability, a skin disability, migraines, and a respiratory disability (including rhinitis and sinusitis) due to the need for additional examinations.

The Veteran was granted a TDIU from August 10, 2018 to June 29, 2020 due to his service-connected disabilities. From June 30, 2020 to the present, he is in receipt of a 100 percent schedular rating for coronary artery disease and a combined rating of at least 60 percent for other service-connected disabilities, making TDIU moot.

The Veteran's claims for an earlier effective date for total disability based upon individual unemployability and basic eligibility to Dependents' Educational Assistance were denied as the evidence did not show that he was unemployable within one year prior to filing his most recent claim.

The Veteran's service-connected PTSD and Parkinson's disease do not prevent him from securing or following substantially gainful employment, thus denying a TDIU based solely on PTSD.,The Veteran is not permanently housebound by reason of his service-connected disabilities, so he does not meet the criteria for SMC under 38 U.S.C. § 1114(s) prior to April 2, 2019.

The Veteran's appeal for service connection for GERD, as secondary to PTSD, has been dismissed due to the Veteran's attorney requesting withdrawal of the appeal prior to a decision being made.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities (PTSD, tinnitus, and bilateral hearing loss) render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation, meeting the criteria for a TDIU.

The Board dismissed the appeal as it found clear and unmistakable error (CUE) in the assignment of the effective date for the grant of service connection for PTSD with persistent depressive disorder, which was already granted.

The Veteran's appeal for a rating in excess of 70 percent prior to July 17, 2015, for service-connected PTSD is dismissed as the March 2021 rating decision implementing the February 2021 Board decision is considered final.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to a failure to obtain a medical opinion regarding the cause of death. The appellant believes the Veteran's suicide was caused by his service-connected disabilities, specifically PTSD.

The Board found the July 2019 (amended October 2019) Notice of Disagreement was timely, and thus the appeal for service connection for PTSD is granted.

The Veteran's full VA disability compensation benefits were reinstated on April 10, 2020, the date of his release from incarceration. The Board found that this was an appropriate effective date as no prior notification of his release within a year of the actual release date was received.

The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for PTSD prior to March 20, 2018, and from March 20, 2018, to October 16, 2019, was denied. The evidence showed symptoms consistent with the current ratings.