Depression decisions — 2000

The Board has determined that the veteran's claims for service connection are not well grounded. The evidence does not support a finding of current disabilities related to his military service, and there is no medical nexus linking any diagnosed conditions to his service.

The Board denied the appellant's claims for increased ratings and service connection, as well as his claim for benefits under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 due to complications from spinal anesthesia in July 1994.

The Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) found that the appellant is not competent for VA purposes and denied his claim.

The Board has dismissed the appeal as moot because all benefits were restored by an August 1995 RO decision.

The veteran's claim for pension benefits was denied in November 1985 due to her not being permanently and totally disabled. The RO used the date of December 23, 1994 as the effective date for pension benefits based on a repeat claim submitted by the veteran.

The Board found that the veteran's claim for secondary service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder is not well grounded due to lack of medical evidence connecting a psychiatric disability to the service-connected cluster headaches.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for chronic sinusitis and for increased ratings for anesthesia of the left inferior nerve with chronic facial pain (cephalalgia) at the left zygomatic arch and a surgical repair site for a left oral antral fistula, as well as for depressive disorder. The evidence did not support current diagnoses or show that these conditions were related to service.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claims for service connection for a skull injury, depression, and headaches are not well-grounded. The claim for an inadequate personality disorder is also not well-grounded as it does not meet the legal criteria for service connection.

The Board found that the veteran's service-connected chronic depression did not substantially or materially contribute to his death, and thus denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the veteran's death.

The Board found no competent medical evidence linking the veteran's psychiatric disorder to his military service, and thus denied the claim of service connection for a major depressive episode.

The veteran is granted service connection for major depression/dysthymic disorder effective from June 25, 1990.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for a nervous disorder due to chemical exposure in service, finding that there was no evidence of such exposure and thus no link between the current disability and service.

The veteran's service-connected major depression is currently rated at 50 percent, but the Board finds no evidence of more than considerable impairment warranting a higher rating.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased evaluations for retropatellar arthralgia of the right knee, lumbosacral strain, and major depression.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claims of service connection for depression, low back disability, epididymitis, prostatitis, and ulcers are not well-grounded as there is no medical evidence linking these conditions to his period of active military service.

The veteran's service-connected disabilities (chronic dermatitis and depression) prevent him from securing or following any substantially gainful occupation, warranting a total disability rating based on individual unemployability.

The veteran's appeal has been dismissed due to his death.

The Board has granted service connection for post-traumatic stress disorder and assigned a 10 percent evaluation. The appeal regarding the denial of service connection for depression is not addressed in this decision.

The veteran's claims for service connection for various undiagnosed illnesses are granted. PTSD was also found to be incurred in service.

The Board found the veteran's claim well grounded and granted service connection for an innocently acquired psychiatric disorder.