RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
PHYSICAL DISABILITY BOARD OF REVIEW
NAME: BRANCH OF SERVICE: NAVY
CASE NUMBER: PD0900022 COMPONENT: ACTIVE
BOARD DATE: 20090604 SEPARATION DATE: 20070515
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SUMMARY OF CASE: This covered individual (CI) was a Navy HM3 Preventive Medicine Technician medically separated in 2007 after nearly four years of service. He developed Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) after serving in direct combat in Fallujah supporting the Marines. Despite comprehensive treatment he became unable to reasonably perform the duties of his office, grade, rank, and rating and was referred to the Navy Physical Evaluation Board (PEB). The PEB found him unfit and he was separated with a 10% disability rating for 8411 PTSD using the Veterans Affairs Schedule for Ratings Disabilities (VASRD) and applicable Navy regulations. Using an evaluation done prior to separation from the Navy, the Veterans Administration (VA) initially rated his disability at 50%. This rating was based on his overall condition and not merely as a minimum rating IAW paragraph 4.129 of the VASRD. A subsequent VA evaluation one year later also resulted in a 50% rating for 9411 PTSD. The CI contends that his rating from the Navy should have been the same as his rating from the VA.
BOARD FINDINGS: IAW DoDI 6040.44, provisions of DoD or Military Department regulations or guidelines relied upon by the PEB will not be considered by the Board to the extent they were inconsistent with the VASRD in effect at the time of the adjudication. After careful consideration of all available information, the Board concluded that the CI’s condition is appropriately rated at 50% under VASRD 9411 PTSD. This rating is based on the CI’s condition of occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity due to multiple symptoms at the time of separation and at one year after separation.
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RECOMMENDATION: The Board recommends that the CI’s prior determination be modified as follows, effective as of the date of his prior medical separation.
| Unfitting Condition | VASRD Code | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| PTSD | 9411 | 50% |
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The following documentary evidence was considered:
Exhibit A. DD Form 294, dated 20090113, w/atchs.
Exhibit B. Service Treatment Record.
Exhibit C. Department of Veteran's Affairs Treatment Record.
AF | PDBR | CY2009 | PD2009-00556
The CI was referred to the Physical Evaluation Board (PEB), determined to be unfit for continued military service, and separated at 10% disability using the Veterans Affairs Schedule for Ratings Disabilities (VASRD) and applicable Navy and Department of Defense regulations. However, the CI failed to show up for multiple scheduled VA Compensation and Pension (C&P) exams and the PTSD rating was decreased to 0% because of the lack of information to provide an accurate disability description. ...
AF | PDBR | CY2010 | PD2010-00416
Since the comprehensive VA Compensation and Pension (C&P) Initial PTSD examination was accomplished three months prior to separation, the most proximate source of evidence on which to base the permanent rating recommendation in this case are the VA mental health outpatient treatment notes from 20060626 to 20060814 (separation was 20051223). Right Knee Condition . Exhibit C. Department of Veterans' Affairs Treatment Record.
AF | PDBR | CY2010 | PD2010-00423
The most proximate source of comprehensive evidence on which to base the permanent rating recommendation in this case is the VA psychiatric rating evaluation three months after separation. The VA had not rated the CI for PTSD as a disability until this examination. There are therefore no additional conditions in this case appropriate for Board recommendation as additionally unfitting for separation rating.
AF | PDBR | CY2009 | PD2009-00548
The Board determined that the CI was exhibiting significant occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity. These other conditions are all judged by the Board to be not unfitting at the time of separation from service, and are not relevant for disability rating. Exhibit C. Department of Veterans' Affairs Treatment Record.
AF | PDBR | CY2010 | PD2010-00306
He was referred for a Medical Evaluation Board (MEB), and the MEB forwarded the PTSD condition to the Physical Evaluation Board (PEB) on the NAVMED 6100/1 as medically unacceptable without listing any other medical conditions. The CI was thus medically separated with a 10% disability rating. Symptoms of fatigue noted during VA evaluations were attributed to the CI’s unfitting PTSD condition.
AF | PDBR | CY2010 | PD2010-00198
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS PHYSICAL DISABILITY BOARD OF REVIEW NAME: BRANCH OF SERVICE: NAVY CASE NUMBER: PD1000198 SEPARATION DATE: 20080815 BOARD DATE: 20101208 ___________________________________________________________________________ SUMMARY OF CASE: This covered individual (CI) was an active duty E-4 (HM3, Hospital Corpsman Third Class) medically separated from the Navy in 2008 after 4 years 11 months of service. There was no indication that any examiner separated the contributions of MDD...
AF | PDBR | CY2009 | PD2009-00495
The psychiatric diagnosis (PTSD) was the only condition considered by the Physical Evaluation Board (PEB). In February 2007, following separation from service, the PTSD was rated by the VA at 70% disability. In determining the CI’s permanent PTSD rating, the Board carefully considered the results of these two Mental Health assessments, as well as the other evidence.
AF | PDBR | CY2009 | PD2009-00641
The medical basis for the separation was Major Depressive Disorder, Single Episode, and moderate in severity (MDD). The VA examination at four months post-separation stated “The Veteran has two Axis I diagnoses (PTSD and Depressive disorder, NOS) that mutually aggravate one another, and I cannot ascribe a specific degree of impairment of any one, independent of the other, with any medical certainty, without resorting to speculation.” The CI’s symptoms that would typically be attributable to...
AF | PDBR | CY2009 | PD2009-00007
The CI was referred to the PEB, found unfit for PTSD and his right knee condition, and separated at 20% combined disability. Right Knee Rating . The 10% rating, as per the PEB and the VA, is fair.
AF | PDBR | CY2010 | PD2010-01079
During treatment the CI was diagnosed with PTSD in addition to her Anxiety Disorder. The mental health symptoms from PTSD and Generalized Anxiety Disorder were not independently evaluated or separated regarding individual contribution to disability by any examiner. Therefore, all of the CI’s mental health symptoms and disability are considered under the CI’s unfitting PTSD rating.