RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
PHYSICAL DISABILITY BOARD OF REVIEW

NAME:  XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX	 CASE:  PD-2014-00856	
BRANCH OF SERVICE:  Army		
DATE OF PLACEMENT ONTO TDRL:  20050713
DATE OF REMOVAL FROM TDRL:  20071105

SUMMARY OF CASE:  Data extracted from the available evidence of record reflects that this covered individual (CI) was an active duty E5, Cable Systems Installer/Maintainer, medically separated from the Temporary Disability Retired List (TDRL) for “posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and somatoform disorder” with a disability rating of 10%.  

CI CONTENTION:  “I was discharged for acute PTSD, I was down rated due to having a job, since then I’ve went thru 3 job [sic] and unemployment.  My rating never included any other issues.” The CI’s complete submission is at Exhibit A.

SCOPE OF REVIEW:  The Board’s scope of review is defined in DoDI 6040.44.  It is limited to those conditions determined by the Physical Evaluation Board (PEB) to be unfitting for continued military service and when specifically requested by the CI, those conditions identified by the PEB, but determined to be not unfitting.  Any conditions outside the Board’s defined scope of review and any contention not requested in this application may remain eligible for future consideration by the Board for Correction of Military Records.  Furthermore, the Board’s authority is limited to assessing the fairness and accuracy of PEB rating determinations and recommending corrections, where appropriate.  The Board’s assessment of the PEB rating determinations is confined to review of medical records and all available evidence for application of the Veterans Affairs Schedule for Rating Disabilities (VASRD) standards to the unfitting medical condition at the time of separation.  The Board has neither the role nor the authority to compensate for post-separation progression or complications of service-connected conditions.  That role and authority is granted by Congress to the Department of Veterans Affairs, operating under a different set of laws.  The Board gives consideration to VA evidence, particularly within 12 months of separation, but only to the extent that it reasonably reflects the severity of the disability at the time of separation.  

RATING COMPARISON: 
 
SERVICE PEB – 20071009	VARD - 20080625	
TDRL Placement – 20050713	Code	Rating	Condition	Code	Rating
Proximate	
Condition		TDRL
Placement	TDRL Removal			TDRL1
Placement	TDRL1 Removal	
PTSD	Court Settlement	PTSD	9411	10%	10%	
Headaches, Tension, Chronic	Not Unfitting	No VA Placement	
Syncope, Idiopathic	Not Unfitting	No VA Placement	
Obesity	Not Unfitting	No VA Placement	
RATING:  30% → 10%	RATING:  10%	
1. Rating based on service treatment record (STR)

ANALYSIS SUMMARY:  The PTSD condition was adjudicated separately as part of the Sabo class action lawsuit and is no longer within the scope of this Board.  The somatoform disorder is also a mental health condition and any impairment from it was subsumed under the PTSD condition IAW VASRD §4.130.  

Contended PEB Conditions: Headache, Syncope, and Obesity.  The Board’s main charge is to assess the fairness of the PEB’s determination that the contended conditions were not unfitting.  None of the conditions were profiled or implicated in the commander’s statement or judged to fail retention standards.  No records were in evidence indicating duty impairment from any of the conditions at separation.  The psychiatric summary for the Medical Evaluation Board (MEB) noted the onset of headaches and syncope (fainting) in August 2004; however, the last syncopal episode was on 13 September 2004, 10 months prior to TDRL entry.  The only clinical record for the headaches was an MRI report dated 9 September 2004 which noted a 4-week history of headaches and syncope.  The MRI was normal.  The mental health addendum dated 4 April 2005 noted that there was “some favorable response” to a prophylactic medication.  She reported headaches on the MEB DD Form 2807, but without detail.  It was noted by the examiner that these and the syncope were secondary to the PTSD condition.  (The CI also had a somatoform disorder which encompassed a number of conditions including headaches, per the PEB).  No clinical records were found separately addressing the obesity.  All were reviewed and considered by the Board.  There was no performance-based evidence from the record that any of these conditions significantly interfered with satisfactory duty performance at separation.  After due deliberation, and in consideration of the preponderance of the evidence, the Board concluded that there was insufficient cause to recommend a change in the PEB fitness determination for the any of the contended conditions and so no additional disability ratings are recommended.

BOARD FINDINGS:  In the matter of the contended chronic tension headache, idiopathic syncope, and obesity conditions, the Board unanimously recommends no change from the PEB determinations as not unfitting. The Board, therefore, recommends that there be no re-characterization of the CI’s disability and separation determination. 

The following documentary evidence was considered:

Exhibit A.  DD Form 294, dated 20131217, w/atchs
Exhibit B.  Service Treatment Record
Exhibit C.  Department of Veterans Affairs Treatment Record

MEMORANDUM FOR Commander, US Army Physical Disability Agency
(AHRC-DO), 2900 Crystal Drive, Suite 300, Arlington, VA 22202-3557

SUBJECT: Department of Defense Physical Disability Board of Review Recommendation
for XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX AR20160009936 (PD201400856)

I have reviewed the enclosed Department of Defense Physical Disability Board of Review
(DoD PDBR) recommendation and record of proceedings pertaining to the subject
individual. Under the authority of Title 10, United States Code, section 1554a, I accept
the Board's recommendation and hereby deny the individual's application.
This decision is final. The individual concerned, counsel (if any), and any Members of
Congress who have shown interest in this application have been notified of this decision
by mail.

BY ORDER OF THE SECRETARY OF THE ARMY:

Enclosure

CF:
( ) DoD PDBR
( ) DVA