PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) Board decisions

The Board has restored the Veteran's PTSD disability rating from 100% to 100%, effective July 1, 2022. The discontinuance of SMC for PTSD was also granted.

The Veteran's appeal for an increased rating in excess of 70 percent for PTSD with alcohol use disorder was denied. The Board has also remanded the claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to service-connected PTSD with alcohol use disorder.

The Veteran's acquired mental health condition, including PTSD and depression due to military sexual trauma (MST), is granted as service connection. The Board found the Veteran's statements credible regarding her MST experience and lack of negative nexus opinion.

The appeal regarding service connection for residuals of a traumatic brain injury is dismissed. Service connection is granted for an acquired psychiatric disorder, right shin splints, left shin splints, and hypertension. The claims for skin disability, headache disability, Type II diabetes mellitus, obstructive sleep apnea, lumbar spine disability, right elbow disability, left elbow disability, right wrist disability, left wrist disability, right hand disability, left hand disability, right ankle disability, left ankle disability, right foot pes planus, and left foot pes planus are all remanded for further evaluation.

The Veteran's claim for a 10 percent rating for residual, scar left medial thigh, status post gunshot wound is granted. The Veteran's PTSD with AUD, Moderate is rated at 70 percent and TDIU based on PTSD alone is granted. Service connection for hypertension, GERD, migraines, COPD, back disability, neck disability, right upper extremity neuropathy, left upper extremity neuropathy, and left lower extremity radiculopathy are all granted. The Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 10 percent for gunshot wound right buttock with sciatic nerve involvement (to include peripheral neuropathy right leg/foot), gunshot wound, left thigh, multiple painful scars bilateral lower extremities, and residuals, scar right buttock and lateral leg is remanded.

The Board has remanded the case due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error regarding the Veteran's claimed in-service stressors. The AOJ is instructed to attempt to corroborate these events and seek answers from relevant records repositories.

The Veteran's PTSD was granted effective January 7, 2010. An initial rating of 70% for dementia due to Parkinson's disease and PTSD from April 22, 2022 is denied.

The Veteran's PTSD has been rated at 50% since June 24, 2022, and increased to 70% effective October 25, 2024. The Board found the symptoms warrant a higher rating.

The Veteran's appeals for increased disability evaluations and TDIU are remanded due to outstanding VA treatment records, specifically from the North Bay Vet Center and Santa Rosa Regional Hospital. The Board finds these records relevant to his service-connected PTSD and bilateral knee disabilities.

The Veteran's claim for SMC based on the need for aid and attendance is remanded due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error. The Board finds that an examination is needed to determine if the Veteran requires aid and attendance of another person due to his service-connected disabilities alone.

The Veteran's service-connected PTSD has prevented him from securing or following substantially gainful employment, and the Board granted entitlement to a TDIU due to PTSD.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to errors in obtaining necessary evidence, including service treatment records and private treatment records. The Veteran's PTSD and TBI claims are also being remanded for further evaluation.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including his TBI and PTSD, have rendered him in need of regular aid and attendance. The Board has granted special monthly compensation based on the need for aid and attendance.

The Board has granted an effective date of June 2, 2021 for service connection of PTSD. The Veteran had symptoms of PTSD since his military service and filed a formal claim within one year.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, including PTSD, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and sleep disorder with sleep pattern disturbance, has been granted due to the submission of new VA treatment records that show a current diagnosis of PTSD.

The Veteran meets the schedular criteria for a total disability evaluation based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to his service-connected disabilities, which render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation.

The Veteran's claims for effective dates earlier than April 1, 2013 for left and right sciatic radiculopathy have been dismissed as the Veteran did not continuously pursue these issues.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including PTSD, ischemic heart disease, diabetic neuropathy, prostate cancer residuals, bilateral diabetic peripheral neuropathy of the lower extremities (sciatic), and diabetes mellitus Type 2, combine to result in physical or mental impairment that renders him so helpless as to require regular aid and attendance of another person. However, the need for aid and attendance must be determined without considering nonservice-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's claims for increased evaluations and effective dates related to his PTSD with TBI, TDIU, SMC based on housebound criteria, and DEA benefits are being remanded due to the inextricably intertwined nature of a pending Higher-Level Review request regarding the effective date assigned for service connection.

The Veteran's migraines are rated at 50 percent, effective from the date of this decision. A total disability rating based on individual unemployability is granted for all service-connected disabilities.