PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) Board decisions

The Veteran's claim for PTSD has been granted, and his chronic left wrist disability is being remanded for further development.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for specially adapted housing assistance or a special home adaptation grant due to lack of qualifying disability.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's PTSD is service-connected based on direct evidence of a link between his in-service stressors and his current symptoms.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining SSA records and VA treatment records, scheduling examinations to assess the severity of his service-connected PTSD and tension headaches, and considering a TDIU claim.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development to obtain VA outpatient treatment records and readjudicate the issue of whether new and material evidence has been submitted to reopen a claim of entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder other than PTSD.

The Veteran's PTSD has been productive of no more than occupational and social impairment with occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform occupational tasks since the award of service connection.

The case is being remanded for further development to determine if there are in-service stressors that support a diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder and whether any current psychiatric disorders other than PTSD are related to service.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for a back disorder, psychiatric disorders (including PTSD, depression, and anxiety), right knee disorder, left knee disorder, GERD with Barrett's esophagus, and hemorrhoids. The appeals are dismissed due to withdrawal by the Veteran.

The Board found that the Veteran's heart disability did not have onset during active service or within one year of separation for active service, and is not otherwise etiologically related to his active service. Therefore, the claim for service connection for a heart disability was denied.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including a new VA examination to assess the current severity of his PTSD and its impact on his employment.

The Veteran's claim for an initial rating in excess of 30 percent for PTSD was granted, and the effective date for this grant is set at April 17, 2002.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence was not received to reopen the Veteran's claims of service connection for PTSD, frostbite of the left foot, frostbite of the right foot, and a throat scar. As such, these claims remain denied.

The Veteran's PTSD has been rated at 70 percent since the appeal period began, reflecting significant impairment in occupational and social functioning.

The Board finds that the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorders, including PTSD and schizophrenia, are related to his service in Vietnam. The claim is granted.

The Veteran is unable to maintain substantially gainful employment due to her service-connected disabilities, including PTSD and carpal tunnel syndrome. The Board finds that the criteria for Total Disability Evaluation based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU) have been met from December 15, 2006 to November 15, 2010.

The Veteran's service-connected PTSD prevented him from securing and following substantially gainful employment beginning on February 20, 2007. The effective date for the TDIU rating is set at February 20, 2007.

The Veteran's PTSD has resulted in total occupational and social impairment throughout the appeal period, warranting a 100 percent rating.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to obtain additional medical records and for an addendum to the VA examination report. The claim will be readjudicated after these actions.

The Veteran's service-connected PTSD with major depressive disorder has not met the criteria for a higher initial rating in excess of 70 percent during the entire initial rating period.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected disability, and therefore, denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death.