Depression decisions — 2008

The Board has remanded the veteran's claims for PTSD, heart condition, sleep apnea, major depressive disorder, and memory loss to allow for proper development of evidence, including notification regarding personal assault claims and VA treatment records.

The Board has remanded the case for further development to verify stressor events and determine if any acquired psychiatric disorder, other than PTSD, is related to service.

The veteran's cervical spine disability is rated at 20% and his major depressive disorder, aggravated by the cervical spine disability, also warrants a 20% rating. The veteran's appeal for higher ratings remains denied.

The veteran's appeal is remanded for further development, including a medical opinion assessing his ability to secure and follow substantially gainful employment due to his service-connected disabilities.

The Board has remanded the case due to a need for further examination and opinion regarding whether the veteran's major depression is aggravated by his amputation of the right foot. The claim will be adjudicated again based on this new information.

The case is being remanded to obtain additional medical records and a medical opinion regarding the veteran's psychiatric disorders, including depression and agoraphobia. The claim will be reconsidered based on this new evidence.

The veteran's appeal has been dismissed due to his death, and the Board does not have jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of this claim.

The Board found that the veteran's current psychosis existed prior to service and was not aggravated by service.

The veteran's service-connected right knee disability and lumbosacral degenerative disc disease have not been found to warrant an evaluation in excess of 10 percent.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claimed disabilities, including a back disability, depression, gallbladder disability, and blood disability, were not incurred or aggravated during his military service. The claims are therefore denied.

The veteran's service-connected conditions (chronic low back pain and major depression) require dental care, but the VAMC in San Francisco is not geographically accessible. The Board has determined that the veteran should receive non-VA fee basis dental care due to the aggravation of her service-connected conditions from travel.

The Board found that the veteran's sleep apnea was not incurred or aggravated in service and is not related to his other service-connected conditions, including depression and hypertension. The claim for service connection was denied.

The Board denied service connection for PTSD, Major Depression, and Explosive Disorder due to lack of credible supporting evidence that the claimed in-service stressors occurred.

The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete medical records and a need for further examination. The veteran's bipolar disorder is being evaluated in relation to her post-partum depression during active duty.

The Board has reopened the veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder and finds that new evidence supports this reopening. The case is now remanded to determine if any of these diagnoses are acquired disorders manifest during service.

The veteran's claim for an increased rating for depression was denied, and his claim for service connection for arthritis of the wrists and elbows (reopened) was granted. The decision on hearing loss is pending as it has been reduced to zero percent.

The VA denied a rating in excess of 30 percent for the veteran's depression, finding that his symptoms did not meet the criteria for a higher rating based on the severity and nature of his depressive disorder.

The Board denied service connection for a claimed innocently acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD. The evidence did not support the diagnosis of PTSD.

The veteran's depressive disorder is currently rated at 50 percent, effective January 30, 2004. The temporary total rating for convalescence due to surgery for arthritis of the right thumb is not applicable as it is precluded by law.

The Board has remanded the case for further development and to provide a VA psychiatric examination.