Depression decisions — 2005

The Board has determined that the veteran's service-connected major depression warrants a 100 percent rating due to total occupational and social impairment.

The Board found the evidence in equipoise as to whether the veteran engaged in combat with the enemy during his active service, and thus reopened the claim based on new and material evidence. However, there is no causal link between any current psychiatric disorder and service, including any claimed PTSD or major depression.

The Board has determined that the veteran's current psychiatric disorders, including major depression and adjustment disorder with anxious mood, were not incurred in or aggravated by service. The claim is denied.

The veteran's major depression is rated at 50 percent, the highest possible rating under VA guidelines. The other conditions are not rated higher.

The veteran's PTSD is rated at 70 percent from December 18, 2002 onwards. The rating for PTSD prior to that date was also granted. A compensable rating for prostate cancer and a separate rating for impotence are not warranted.

The Board has remanded the case for further development due to incomplete medical opinions regarding the relationship between the veteran's service-connected lumbar spine disability and his claimed conditions.

The veteran's claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder and bulging discs at L4-L5 and L5-S1 have been granted. The conditions are considered to be related to injury during service.

The Board has determined that the veteran's psychiatric disability, characterized as emotional instability reaction and depression, was not incurred in or aggravated by active service.

The Board found that VA's care and treatment did not cause the veteran's suicide, but denied DIC benefits as there was no service connection for depression or neurovascular disease.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claimed conditions, including major depressive disorder with panic attacks and generalized anxiety, hypertension, and sinusitis, were not incurred or aggravated by active service. The VA medical records do not show any evidence of these conditions during her military service.

The veteran's claimed conditions were not incurred or aggravated by service, and the Board finds no credible evidence linking any of his current disabilities to service.

The Board of Veterans' Appeals has determined that the veteran's depression is related to her active military service and grants the claim for service connection.

The veteran's unauthorized medical expenses incurred from June 1, 2001 to June 3, 2001 at the Garden Park Hospital in Gulfport, Mississippi are eligible for payment due to emergency care provided during a medical emergency.

The Board determined that the veteran's current diagnosed depressive disorder and panic disorder were not incurred or aggravated by military service, as there is no direct evidence of such in-service. The records from his VA outpatient clinics do not indicate any treatment for a psychiatric condition until after he left active duty.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development, including obtaining SSA records and scheduling a VA psychiatric examination. The claims will be readjudicated with consideration of staged ratings under Fenderson.

The veteran's claims for effective dates earlier than November 10, 1994 for the grants of service connection for residuals of left ankle and left foot injuries are denied.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to fully evaluate the veteran's claims, including obtaining medical records and conducting further examinations.

The veteran's appeal is denied as she did not meet the criteria for an extension of her delimiting date beyond May 27, 2003.

The Board has granted the veteran's claim for service connection for chronic depression that is aggravated by his service-connected degenerative arthritis of the left knee.

The veteran's claims for service connection for arteriosclerotic heart disease, bilateral hearing loss, and major depressive disorder were denied as there was no evidence of a current disability or that the conditions began during service.