PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) Board decisions

The Veteran's PTSD is currently rated as 50 percent disabling, reflecting occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity due to symptoms such as panic attacks more than once a week, difficulty understanding complex commands, impairment of short- and long-term memory, disturbances of motivation and mood, and difficulty establishing effective work and social relationships.

The Veteran's claims for service connection and evaluation of his knee disability, PTSD, back condition, and early systolic murmur were denied. The claim to reopen the early systolic murmur was granted.

The Veteran's PTSD is rated at 50% and his hypertension remains at 10%. The Board found the evidence supported a 50% rating for PTSD but not a higher one.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining SSA records and providing the Veteran with VCAA notice regarding his claim for service connection for PTSD.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claimed PTSD is not incurred or aggravated by active military service, as there are no verified in-service stressors and his diagnosis of PTSD was based on unverified accounts from him.

The Board found that the Veteran's PTSD was not incurred in or aggravated by service, and denied his claim for service connection. For tinnitus, while the evidence is in approximate balance as to whether it is due to acoustic trauma in service, the benefit of doubt has been given to the Veteran.

The Veteran withdrew his appeals for the compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss and a rating in excess of 10 percent for tinnitus. The claims for service connection for PTSD and an eye disability were not reopened due to lack of new and material evidence.

The Veteran's claims for increased disability ratings for tinnitus, recurrent episodes of otitis externa, PTSD, and bilateral hearing loss were denied. The maximum schedular rating of 10 percent is the highest available under applicable diagnostic codes.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus and has reopened the claim of service connection for PTSD, finding new and material evidence. However, it has not determined whether the Veteran's claimed in-service stressors actually occurred.

The Veteran's service connection claim for PTSD is granted as the evidence supports a finding that his current PTSD symptoms are related to his experiences in Vietnam.

The Veteran's psychiatric disability, including dysthymia and PTSD, is denied as it arose from her illegal drug abuse during service.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for GERD as secondary to PTSD, finding that there is no evidence supporting this relationship.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's death was caused by cardiac arrest, due to (or as a consequence of) septic shock, which was contributed to by his service-connected PTSD and COPD. Therefore, the appeal for service connection for the cause of death is granted.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for additional VA treatment records and an updated VA examination.

The Board has remanded the case to the RO for scheduling a Video Conference hearing before a Veterans Law Judge at the RO.

The Veteran's claims for an initial evaluation in excess of 30 percent for post-traumatic stress disorder, and for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and a bilateral foot disorder have been denied. The evidence received since the final decisions is not new and material to reopen these claims.

The Veteran's PTSD has been rated at 70 percent since January 1996, reflecting the severity of his symptoms and impairment.

The Board found that the Veteran did not engage in combat with the enemy and thus, the relaxed evidentiary standards of 38 U.S.C.A. § 1154(b) do not apply. The Veteran's statements regarding his in-service stressors were insufficient to verify the occurrence of the events he claimed, as there was no independent evidence supporting these claims.

The Veteran's claim for an initial disability rating in excess of 10 percent for PTSD has been granted. The Veteran is also entitled to a temporary total evaluation from May 30, 2005 to July 1, 2005 due to hospitalization for his service-connected PTSD.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and depression with chronic adjustment disorder, is being remanded due to the need for a more detailed VA opinion regarding whether any psychiatric disorder present is caused or aggravated by his service-connected disabilities.