Depression decisions — 2013

The Board has remanded the case due to the need for additional development, including obtaining VA medical records and scheduling a psychiatric examination.

The Veteran seeks service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including bipolar disorder, personality disorder, major depressive disorder, mood disorder and a nervous breakdown. The case is being remanded to obtain additional medical records and to provide the Veteran with a new VA examination.

The Board has granted service connection for an anxiety disorder not otherwise specified, but denied service connection for PTSD and depression due to lack of a confirmed in-service stressor.

The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate examination reports and incomplete records, including Social Security Administration records. The Veteran's claim for service connection for a psychiatric disorder is being reviewed.

The Board found no evidence of a service-connected psychiatric disability, specifically PTSD or depressive disorder, and concluded that the Veteran's current mental health issues are not related to his military service.

The Veteran's major depressive disorder was granted a disability rating of 70 percent effective April 22, 2013. Prior to this date, the disability had been rated at 50 percent.

The Veteran seeks service connection for various conditions, including bilateral pes planus and its secondary effects. The case is being remanded to obtain a new VA examination of the Veteran's bilateral pes planus.

The Veteran's claims for increased disability ratings have been granted, with the exception of his claim for higher initial disability rating for residuals of incisional hernia repair.,His anxiety with depression and inverse psoriasis were each rated at 50 percent effective June 18, 2004.

The Board denied service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD. The Veteran's current diagnoses were not incurred in service.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for depressive disorder was received on September 12, 2008. The Board found that the earliest date for which service connection could be granted is September 12, 2008.

The Veteran's service records do not show any diagnosis of PTSD, and the VA examiner found no evidence to support a current diagnosis. The Board therefore denied service connection for PTSD. However, the Veteran was diagnosed with anxiety disorder, NOS, and depressive disorder, NOS, during his service on the U.S.S. Bainbridge. While there is no direct evidence linking these conditions to service, the VA examiner found that the in-service stressors did not meet the criteria for a diagnosis of PTSD. The Board therefore denied service connection for anxiety and depressive disorders as well.

The Veteran's claims of service connection for bilateral hearing loss and an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include depression, are being remanded due to inadequate examination reports. The examiner is asked to consider the Veteran's military occupational specialty, his history of in-service noise exposure, and lay statements when determining whether any current disabilities are related to his military service.

The Veteran's initial rating for depression was increased from 10 percent to 50 percent, effective June 27, 2005.

The Board found no evidence of a diagnosis for depression and denied service connection for both depression and hypertension. The Veteran's current diagnoses are not related to his military service.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD and granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability other than PTSD, diagnosed as a mood disorder manifested by depression with anxiety. The latter claim is based on secondary service connection due to its being caused or aggravated by his service-connected left shoulder disability.

The Board has granted service connection for sleep apnea, GERD, and depression. The Veteran is now rated at 40% for degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine from July 11, 2011.

The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and major depressive disorder, is granted as secondary to his service-connected sleep apnea. His sleep apnea remains at a 100% rating from December 1, 2009, to May 19, 2013, but drops back to a 50% rating thereafter. The Veteran's ED claim is denied.

The Board found no evidence of a service-connected PTSD or other acquired psychiatric disorder. The Veteran's current mental health issues are attributed to his history of substance abuse and alcohol dependency, which were not present during service.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the failure to provide proper notice of a videoconference hearing. The issues are whether new and material evidence has been submitted to reopen his PTSD claim, and entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder.

The Board has found that the evidence supports service connection for COPD. The claim of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder to include depression must be remanded for further development, including a VA examination.