Depression decisions — 2000

The Board has determined that the veteran's major depression is a direct result of his extended period of emotional stress during and after service, leading to an award of service connection.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claim for service connection for a nervous disorder, to include major depression and PTSD, is not well grounded. The evidence does not show a nexus between any current mental health condition and active service.

The appeal has been dismissed as the appellant withdrew their appeal prior to a decision being made.

The veteran's psychiatric disorder, headaches, and skin lesions were not found to be related to service. The claims for these conditions are denied.

The Board determined that the veteran's claim for service connection for bipolar disorder is not well grounded, as there is no competent evidence linking his current psychiatric disability to service.

The Board has granted service connection for an adjustment reaction with depression as secondary to the veteran's service-connected right paratracheal mass, lung base, with mild restrictive respiratory impairment.

The Board found that the veteran's service-connected anxiety did not cause or contribute to his death from respiratory failure due to congestive heart failure and cardiomyopathy. The VA cardiologist concluded it was more likely than not that the stress on the veteran’s cardiovascular system, rather than his service-connected anxiety, contributed to his death.

The Board granted service connection for somatoform pain disorder (claimed as depression) as secondary to the veteran's service-connected disability and increased the rating for chronic tension headaches from noncompensable to 30 percent.

The Board has determined that the veteran's PTSD is service-connected, as his symptoms are linked to in-service stressors and there is no clear evidence of non-service causation.

The Board found that the veteran's claims of service connection for flat feet, residuals of a back injury, and depression are not well-grounded. As such, the appeals were denied.

The veteran's overpayment of disability pension benefits was waived due to his inadvertent failure to report receipt of Social Security Administration (SSA) benefits, which were effective from March 1997. The Board found that the veteran's misrepresentation did not rise to the level of fraud or bad faith.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for major depression, hypertension, and cervical disc disease due to a lack of competent medical evidence linking these conditions to his military service.

The veteran's claim of a disability rating greater than 30 percent for PTSD with depression is being remanded due to the need for additional information from a VA psychiatrist regarding the nature and severity of his psychiatric symptoms.

The veteran's disabilities, including his cervical spine and lung conditions, depression, heroin abuse, and alcohol dependence, do not prevent him from obtaining and maintaining substantially gainful employment.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for increased evaluations of his left and right ankle disabilities, as well as service connection for a depressive disorder. The issues of service connection for back, heart, right knee and right eye disorders, and increased evaluations for foot fungus and stomach lipomas are also addressed.

The appellant has withdrawn his appeal regarding the increased ratings for HIV infection and major depression with anxiety features, effectively dismissing these claims.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for an increased evaluation of his service-connected atypical seizure disorder and for service connection of major depression, finding that there was insufficient evidence to support either claim.

The Board has determined that the veteran's anxiety with depression and involutional melancholia warrants a 70 percent rating, reflecting severe social and industrial impairment.

The VA denied the veteran's claim for service connection for depression, concluding that there is no competent evidence showing a disability related to service.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claims of service connection for depression, hypertension, heart disease, stomach disability, and back disability are not well-grounded.