Depression decisions — 2008

The veteran's appeal for service connection and a total rating for a period of convalescence was remanded for additional development.

The veteran's service connection claims for a depressive disorder and osteoporosis were granted, while the TDIU claim was remanded.

The Board denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, diagnosed as depression/dysthymic disorder, and dismissed the appeal of the claim for entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss.

The veteran's claim for service connection for a skin disorder was reopened, and she is granted a 70 percent rating for major depressive disorder.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for depression, finding that there was no evidence of a current diagnosis of depression and that his psychiatric conditions were not due to or aggravated by his active service or any service-connected disability.

The veteran's PTSD has been shown to result in occupational and social impairment, with deficiencies in most areas, such as work, family relations, judgment, thinking, or mood, due to symptoms such as suicidal ideation; near-continuous panic or depression affecting the ability to function independently, appropriately, and effectively; impaired impulse control; difficulty in adapting to stressful circumstances; an inability to establish and maintain effective relationships. The veteran's service-connected disabilities preclude her from securing and following substantially gainful employment.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for major depression as there was no evidence linking it to any incident of active service.

The veteran's right ankle disability does not warrant a rating higher than 20 percent, and his depressive disorder is unrelated to service or the service-connected right ankle.

The Board denied service connection for PTSD and a major depressive disorder as the most probative medical evidence did not support a diagnosis of PTSD, and there was no credible supporting evidence that the claimed in-service stressor actually occurred.

The veteran's left hip arthralgia and right ankle disorder do not warrant increased ratings, and the effective date for the increase in the evaluation of the right ankle disorder is denied. The claims for service connection for PTSD, a right shoulder disorder, residuals of a right bicep tear, and a back disorder are also denied.

The appeal is remanded to the RO for further development and readjudication of the claims.

The veteran's bilateral sensorineural hearing loss and depression were not incurred in or aggravated by his military service, and the veteran's depression is not proximately due to, the result of, or aggravated by a service-connected disability.

The Board granted an earlier effective date of October 2, 2002 for a total rating based on unemployability due to service-connected disability.

The veteran's claims for service connection for a low back disability and a psychiatric disability were not reopened as new and material evidence was not submitted.

The veteran's claims for service connection and the reopening of a previously denied claim were remanded for further development.

The veteran's claim for an increased evaluation for degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine was denied, but his claims to reopen service connection for a seizure disorder and left knee degenerative joint disease were successful.

The Board denied service connection for a variously diagnosed psychiatric disorder, including depression, paranoia, and psychosis; a low back disorder; a neck disorder; and numbness of the upper extremities as there was no competent evidence showing that these conditions were related to the veteran's military service.

The appeal is remanded to the RO for further development of evidence related to the veteran's service connection claims.

The appeal is remanded to the RO for additional development, including scheduling the veteran for a videoconference hearing before the Board.

The veteran's depression is granted as secondary to his service-connected orthopedic disabilities.