Depression decisions — 2008

The veteran's claim for an increased rating and service connection for a psychiatric disorder is being remanded to the RO for further development.

The Board finds that the preponderance of the evidence is against the veteran's claim for service connection for depression, both as a direct result of service and as secondary to his service-connected disabilities.

The appeal is remanded for the acquisition of additional evidence and a DRO review.

The Board determined that the veteran's service-connected disabilities did not cause or contribute to his death, and denied entitlement to dependency and indemnity compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1318.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD and depression, as there was no credible supporting evidence to corroborate his report of in-service stressors upon which this diagnosis was based.

The Board denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD, as there was no credible evidence supporting the claimed in-service stressor and no medical evidence linking any of the diagnosed conditions to military service.

The veteran's service-connected PTSD, with depressive disorder and history of polysubstance dependence, was not characterized by occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas prior to March 2, 2007.

The Board remands the case for an additional VA examination to determine if the veteran's major depressive disorder is aggravated by his service-connected bilateral knee disability.

The veteran's anxiety disorder with panic attacks and depression is not shown to be more disabling than the currently assigned 50 percent rating.

The veteran's major depressive disorder is service-connected as it was incurred in active duty service.

The veteran's service-connected disabilities, including depressive disorder, patellofemoral syndrome of the right knee, post-operative residuals of a dislocated left knee cap, and status post excision of a cyst in the left occipital skull area, do not render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation.

The veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for the award of a TDIU was denied as he did not meet the schedular criteria for a TDIU prior to January 21, 2004.

The veteran's claims for service connection for major depression and PTSD have been reopened, but the effective date for a 50 percent rating for migraine headaches remains June 13, 2002.

The veteran's claims for service connection for a bilateral knee disorder, a bilateral ankle disorder, and major depressive disorder are being remanded for further development.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for a psychiatric disability, to include PTSD and depression, as there was no credible supporting evidence of an in-service stressor event and no medical evidence linking any current psychiatric condition to his military service.

The Board found that the veteran's scoliosis of the thoracic spine preexisted service and was not aggravated by service. The claim for a psychiatric disorder, to include anxiety, depression, and manic depression, was also denied as it was not incurred in or aggravated by active military service, nor is it secondary to the service-connected scar of the left neck or his back disability.

The Board found that the evidence did not support a higher rating for depressive disorder or hypertension.

The Board finds that the preponderance of the evidence is against the veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD. The veteran was denied service connection for major depression.

The veteran's appeal for service connection for right ear hearing loss was denied, as the evidence did not support a finding that his hearing loss is related to his military service.

The veteran's depression was incurred in service and is granted service connection.