Depression decisions — 2015

The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including schizoaffective disorder, paranoid schizophrenia, and depressive disorder, not otherwise specified (NOS), is being remanded due to the need for additional development of his medical records.

The Veteran's claim for specially adapted housing or special home adaptation grant is pending, and his service connection claim for a lumbar spine disability remains inapplicable as it is not related to the appeal of the housing grant. The Board has ordered remand for further development.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records and possibly scheduling a VA examination.

The Veteran's claims for service connection were denied as the evidence did not establish a link between his current disabilities and his military service.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD, was denied as there is no evidence of a current disability or a link between the claimed in-service stressors and his symptoms.

The Veteran's psychiatric symptoms have included depression, anxiety, nightmares, intrusive thoughts, isolation, memory problems, flattened affect, anger, passive suicidal thoughts, feelings of worthlessness, hopelessness, social withdrawal and excessive sleeping. The Board finds that these symptoms are indicative of no more than occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform occupational tasks.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to obtain additional records and for a VA psychiatric examination.

The Board denied the appellant's claims for compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151, an increased rating for service-connected anxiety and headaches, and earlier effective dates for service connection and TDIU.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have PTSD and his only current diagnosed acquired psychiatric disorder is adjustment disorder, which was not caused or aggravated by service-connected residuals of frostbite injury to the feet.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, is being remanded due to inadequate examination reports and the need for further development of evidence.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining a VA examination and providing proper notice regarding unavailable service treatment records. The Veteran's claim will be re-adjudicated after these actions.

The Board has granted reconsideration of the Veteran's service connection claim for major depression, finding that new and material evidence was received prior to the expiration of the appeal period. The claim is now considered on its merits.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to a new claim of CUE in the December 1974 rating decision, and his TDIU claim is deferred until that issue is resolved.

The Board has determined that the Veteran timely filed a substantive appeal for his claims of entitlement to service connection for PTSD with night sweats, stress, helplessness, problems concentrating, depression and fatigue; headaches to include as secondary to PTSD; and sleep apnea to include as secondary to PTSD. As such, these claims are now ready for further adjudication.

The Veteran's depressive disorder, secondary to hearing loss and tinnitus, is currently evaluated at 10%.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including his depressive disorder and neck strain with degenerative changes, are found to be of sufficient severity to produce unemployability. However, the VA examiner did not make the ultimate determination of whether the combined impact of the Veteran's disabilities rendered him unemployable.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a psychiatric disorder, including anxiety and major depressive disorder.

The Veteran's psychiatric disorder resulted in occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas beginning July 29, 2012. A higher initial rating is granted for the period through June 11, 2014, and a 70 percent rating is assigned for the period beginning June 12, 2014.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining in-service mental health treatment records and private treatment records. The Veteran's psychiatric disorders are to be evaluated based on their relation to his military service.

The Veteran's service-connected left ear hearing loss is currently rated as noncompensable, and the claim for an increased rating has been denied. The issue of entitlement to TDIU remains pending.