Depression decisions — 2009

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection of an acquired psychiatric disorder, finding no nexus between his current psychiatric conditions and his military service. The claim was reopened based on new evidence submitted by the Veteran.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's depression is more likely related to his service-connected genital herpes, and not due to alcohol abuse. As such, the claim for service connection for depression as secondary to service-connected genital herpes is granted.

The Board has granted service connection for PTSD and major depressive disorder, finding that the Veteran's account of his stressors is credible and supported by medical evidence.

The VA determined that the Veteran's psychiatric conditions, including depression and suicidal thoughts, were not incurred or aggravated by service. The evidence did not support a finding of direct service connection.

Throughout the rating period on appeal, the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disability has not been manifested by symptoms such as circumstantial, circumlocutory, or stereotyped speech; panic attacks more than once a week; difficulty in understanding complex commands; impairment of short and long term memory; abstract thinking, and judgment. Occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity has not been demonstrated.

The Veteran's hepatitis C was contracted as a result of his exposure to blood products in service, and the Board has granted service connection for this condition.

The Board has decided to remand the case for additional development, including obtaining medical records and providing a VA examination.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for a psychiatric disorder, but it remains denied as new and material evidence was not sufficient to establish service connection.

The Board found that the Veteran's major depressive disorder and psoriasis form dermatitis did not warrant ratings higher than 10 percent throughout the rating period on appeal.

The Veteran's claims for nerve and muscle damage due to surgery, right groin (to include right pelvic/hip damage causing the right side to be shorter than the left), root canal problems (to include gum disease with loss of teeth), fibromyalgia (to include body wide sickness and nausea secondary to dental work and extreme fatigue), depression, insomnia, neck problems (claimed as neck problems with bone spurring), back problems (claimed as scoliosis in the spine), chronic ear problems (claimed as hole punctured and eardrum), anemia, vision problems (to include an eye condition), hearing loss, impairment of the right knee, right foot condition, head condition, carpal tunnel syndrome, right (also claimed as paralysis of medial nerve), left knee condition, and left foot condition have all been denied due to lack of new and material evidence.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD, a psychiatric disability, heart disability, pancreatitis, and hypertension. The evidence did not corroborate the claimed in-service stressors or show that any of these conditions were related to military service.

The Veteran's schizophrenia claim was reopened, but the evidence did not establish a service connection. The depression claim is pending.

The Board found that the Veteran's psychiatric disorders, including obsessive-compulsive disorder with depression and memory loss, were not related to his active military service.

The Board has granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD and depression, based on the Veteran's reported in-service personal assaults.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have PTSD at any time since filing his claim, and therefore service connection for this disability is denied.

The Veteran's initial rating for PTSD has been granted at a 30 percent level, reflecting moderate impairment in social and occupational functioning.

The Veteran's service-connected major depression disorder is rated at 70 percent disabling and prevents him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation.

The Board has granted service connection for post-traumatic stress disorder and denied the claim of an initial rating higher than 10 percent for major depressive disorder. The Veteran's depression is now considered to be secondary to his service-connected diabetes mellitus.

The Veteran's major depressive disorder is currently rated at 50 percent, which reflects moderate impairment in social and occupational functioning.

The Board has granted service connection for coronary artery disease (CAD) as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected chronic anxiety reaction, moderate, major depressive disorder, and diabetes mellitus.