ptsd A Well Founded Argument For Addition Of Ratings In Excess Of 100%

[vaf]

It is of utmost importance to keep in mind the last paragraph above

is in relationship to the criteria of DC 8045 that was in effect

PRIOR TO THE REG CHANGES of Oct. 2008 !

Carlie, I merely said it caught my eye, I didn't say that the information was incorrect. Secondly, the regs prior to 2008 applied to our claim, as it may very well apply to other veterans who filed similar claims prior to 2008. Many of us here, you especially, know what it feels like to have been battling this fight for many, many years.

Finally, the use of all caps to emphasize is not needed. My eyesight is fine, and the use of caps,as I've read here many, many times, is interpreted as screaming. No need to do so. I get it.

[desertshield]

OBS / OBD useful link:

http://books.google.com/books?id=ZRI7AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA289&lpg=PA289&dq=organic+brain+syndrome+veteran&source=bl&ots=BVlKhKq1Vo&sig=opEHl0rve7M9vM5Ya_c50Ykfeng&hl=en&sa=X&ei=265wUPfLA8Xf0gHWnYCYBA&ved=0CBwQ6AEwADgU#v=onepage&q=organic%20brain%20syndrome%20veteran&f=false

[desertshield]

Organic Brain Syndromes (OBS) are "a heterogenous class of conditions caused by brain tissue dysfunction due to abnormalities of brain structure or secondary to alterations of brain neurophysiology or neurochemistry. In all cases, there is a failure of normal metabolic processes in the brain leading to a cognizant loss characterized by impairment of four major areas: 1) orientation; 2) memory; 3) intellectual functions (comprehension, calculation, learning); and 4) judgment. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third edition-Revised (DSM-III-R), the essential feature of all organic mental disorders is a psychological or behavioral abnormality associated with transient or permanent dysfunction of the brain. In some cases, the origin of the dysfunction is readily identified with diagnostic tools such as computed tomography (CAT) scanning of the brain, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain, or electroencephalography (EEG) which reveals the electrical brain wave patterns. In other cases, it is impossible to identify the underlying abnormality in brain structure or function accounting for the behavioral changes, but an organic cause can be inferred from characteristic physical findings." 5 Robert K. Ausman, M.D., and Dean E. Snyder, J.D., Ausman & Snyder's Medical Library Lawyers Edition § 8:49, at 431-32 (1990).

Tinnitus: A sound in one ear or both ears, such as buzzing, ringing, or whistling, occurring without an external stimulus and usually caused by a specific condition, such as an ear infection, the use of certain drugs, a blocked auditory tube or canal, or a head injury. See The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language 1879 (3rd ed. 1992); see also Stedman's Medical Dictionary 1816 (26th ed. 1995).

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: The essential feature of the disorder is "the development of characteristic symptoms following exposure to an extreme traumatic stressor involving direct personal experience of an event that involves actual or threatened death or serious injury, or other threat to one's physical integrity; or witnessing an event that involves death, injury, or a threat to the physical integrity of another person; or learning about unexpected or violent death, serious harm, or threat of death or injury experienced by a family member or other close associate...The characteristic symptoms resulting from the exposure to the extreme trauma include persistent reexperiencing of the traumatic event, persistent avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma and numbing of general responsiveness, and persistent symptoms of increased arousal....Stimuli associated with the trauma are persistently avoided....The individual has persistent symptoms of anxiety or increased arousal that were not present before the trauma. These symptoms may include difficulty falling or staying asleep that may be due to recurrent nightmares during which the traumatic event is relived, hypervigilance, and exaggerated startle response. Some individuals report irritability or outbursts of anger or difficulty concentrating or completing tasks." See American Psychiatric Association, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) 309.81, at 424-25 (1994).

[desertshield]

DC 9327 is listed under mental disorders, DC 8045 is under Neurological disorders. Was the rating for DC 9327? The above BVA decision could well be used in argument for OBD to be ruled under TBI! What I stated before was referencing DC 9327, as a mental disease. I believe the VA would have a well founded argument, based on 38 CFR 3.350 "separate and distinct and involving different anatomical segments or bodily function." Now, someone who had a stroke AND PTSD, the two are separate and distinct, as one is mental, and one is physical.

38 CFR 4.130 "Organic mental disorder, other (including personality change due to a general medical condition)" The general medical condition, rated separate from DC 9327, would be separate, but two mental conditions, IMO, does not meet the "separate and distinct" criteria.

Might it meet the "separate and distinct" criteria in that OBD/OBS can cause, for example, seizures or tremors etc. from physical damage to the brain without the psychiatric component that depression and/or PTSD might have and vice-versa? OBS and PTSD are etiologically very different and these conditions may manifest themselves in markedly different ways.