Depression decisions — 2009

The Board has remanded the case for additional development to determine if service connection is warranted for an acquired psychiatric disability, including PTSD and depression.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining updated VA treatment records and scheduling a VA examination to assess his employability due to service-connected disabilities. The issue of service connection for headaches will also be addressed in the remand portion.

The Board denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder other than PTSD, claimed as depression; sinusitis; bladder neck contracture with median lobe hypertrophy; bilateral hearing loss; and tinnitus. The Veteran's claims were not supported by competent medical evidence linking these conditions to his military service.

The Veteran's claims for compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 for coronary artery disease and depression as secondary to the disease are being remanded due to inadequate VCAA notice.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's depression is partly due to his right elbow disabilities and grants benefits for this portion of his depression.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for mycosis fungoides (cutaneous T-cell lymphoma) and depression were denied. The claim for pes planus, hammer toes, and bilateral hallux valgus with ingrown toenails was remanded but not fully addressed.,New evidence received since the July 1976 decision raised a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claims of entitlement to service connection for pes planus, hammer toes, and bilateral hallux valgus with ingrown toenails. The Veteran's current pes planus is related to her active military service.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including a VA psychiatric examination to determine if any diagnosed psychiatric disorder is related to service.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining treatment records from the Gene Taylor community-based outpatient clinic and considering the possibility of service connection for another acquired psychiatric disorder.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's depression was not incurred in or aggravated by active service and is not proximately due to or the result of a service-connected disease or injury. The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not render him unemployable without consideration of his service-connected conditions.

The Veteran's claims for chest pain, PTSD and depressive disorder were denied as they are not service-connected. The cervical spine and lumbar spine disabilities have been granted but with initial evaluations.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to obtain additional medical records and to schedule examinations for his psychiatric disability and left sternoclavicular joint disability. The Veteran contends that he has depression secondary to his service-connected left shoulder disability, and the Board will determine if there is a relationship between these conditions.

The Veteran's sinusitis is currently rated at 30 percent, the highest available rating under the General Rating Formula for Sinusitis. The Board found that he satisfied the criteria for a 30 percent evaluation based on more than six non-incapacitating episodes of sinusitis per year characterized by headaches, pain, and purulent discharge or crusting.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim of service connection for depression, finding that it is proximately due to his service-connected disabilities. The issue of service connection for a left knee disability remains remanded as there are unresolved questions regarding its onset and relationship to service.

The Veteran's service-connected depression is rated at 70 percent, which is the maximum schedular rating. The issue of an initial rating in excess of 0 percent for irritable bowel syndrome remains unresolved.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's cause of death was not caused by any service-connected disability, and therefore denied both service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death and DIC benefits under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1318.

The Board has granted service connection for major depressive disorder with anxiety as it is proximately due to the veteran's service-connected bilateral knee disorders. The veteran does not meet the criteria for special monthly compensation or financial assistance in the purchase of an automobile or adaptive equipment.

The Veteran's claims for service connection have been reopened, but the Board has not yet determined whether new and material evidence supports each individual claim. The Veteran's mental condition claim is now reopened due to his submission of new evidence regarding his alleged in-service PTSD stressors.

The Board denied the appellant's claim for basic eligibility for Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) benefits under Chapter 35, finding that her period of eligibility had expired and she did not meet any legal criteria for a modification or extension.

The Veteran is seeking service connection for PTSD and depression, which involves allegations of in-service personal assault. The Board has determined that additional development is needed to consider alternative evidence such as private medical records, civilian police reports, crisis intervention center reports, testimonial statements from confidants, or personal diaries/journals.

The Board has remanded the case due to the need for a VA examination and additional development of records.