PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) decisions — 2024

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including PTSD, stab wound residuals, and left upper lumbar paraspinal wound with tender scar, rendered him unable to secure or maintain substantially gainful employment. The Board found that his service-connected conditions prevented him from performing the physical tasks required for a security guard position.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for traumatic brain injury (TBI) residuals and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to verify an in-service stressor related to a reported fall incident.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder and bilateral hearing loss due to inadequate medical opinions. Additional development is needed, including obtaining addendum opinions from clinicians who have not previously examined the Veteran or provided an opinion.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient reasoning in a previous VA opinion, and a new opinion is needed to address whether the Veteran's acquired psychiatric condition manifested during service or is otherwise related to his active service.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for depression and migraines were denied. Service connection was granted for PTSD with a rating of 50 percent, effective February 21, 2019. The Veteran's erectile dysfunction claim was denied as there is no evidence of penile deformity.

The Veteran's tinnitus began in service and has continued since, meeting the criteria for service connection.,The Veteran experienced a stressor related to his father's death during service, which is sufficient to establish service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder (including PTSD).

The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including anxiety, PTSD, and insomnia, is found to be related to his service in Iraq where he was deployed to Camp Ramadi under imminent danger pay.

The Veteran's PTSD was rated at 70 percent prior to February 11, 2022. The Board denied an increased rating for PTSD.

The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for PTSD is granted, but not for the DEA benefits. The Board has remanded the issue of DEA benefits due to its inextricability with the VA rating decision.

The Veteran's PTSD is rated at a 70 percent disability rating, which reflects the severity of her symptoms and their impact on her occupational and social functioning.

The Veteran withdrew his appeals for the effective dates of service connection for PTSD and tinnitus prior to September 8, 2022.

The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for a 100 percent rating for service-connected PTSD and Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) is denied.,The Veteran was found to be unable to work due to his service-connected PTSD as of May 21, 2021.

The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for his service-connected PTSD is denied because the disability first manifested after May 17, 2021.

Service connection for allergic rhinitis is granted.,An effective date of September 30, 2019 is granted for the grant of service connection for PTSD.,A 100% rating for PTSD is granted from September 30, 2019.,An effective date of September 30, 2019 is granted for SMC under 38 U.S.C. § 1114(s).,An effective date of September 30, 2019 is granted for DEA benefits.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including posttraumatic stress disorder, major depressive disorder, dissociative identity disorder, migraines, and psychogenic non-epileptic seizures, are found to be so severe that she is unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment. As a result, the Board has granted entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU).

The Veteran is granted a higher rate of special monthly compensation (SMC) at the r-1 level due to needing regular aid and attendance for two separate service-connected disabilities: PTSD and COPD.

The rating reduction from 100% to 70% for service-connected PTSD was improper, and the 100% rating is restored.

The Board has remanded the claim for service connection for lumbosacral strain due to a duty to assist error and the need for additional medical opinions regarding causation and aggravation.

The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for service connection for PTSD with bipolar disorder II was denied as the claim was not continuously pursued within one year of the February 2020 rating decision.

The Veteran's PTSD has been characterized by a level of functional impairment that most closely approximates occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas (such as work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking, or mood) due to such symptoms as suicidal ideation; obsessional rituals which interfere with routine activities; speech intermittently illogical, obscure, or irrelevant; near-continuous panic or depression affecting the ability to function independently, appropriately and effectively; impaired impulse control (such as unprovoked irritability with periods of violence); spatial disorientation; neglect of personal appearance and hygiene; difficulty in adapting to stressful circumstances (including work or a worklike setting); and inability to establish and maintain effective relationships. The Veteran's symptoms do not closely approximate the 100 percent rating criteria, but he has remained connected to reality and his cognitive and communicative abilities well exceed those contemplated by the 100 percent rating criteria.