Depression decisions — 2015

The Veteran's iatrogenic colon perforation and chronic bowel syndrome were caused by the VA colonoscopy, but his major depressive disorder was not. The claim for service connection for these conditions is granted.

The Board has remanded the case due to an undeliverable notice of a scheduled Travel Board hearing, and the Veteran's attorney requested a delay in the hearing because he could not locate the Veteran. The case is now being returned for rescheduling a Travel Board hearing.

The Board has found that further development is needed for VA to fulfill its duties to notify and assist, including obtaining SSA records and securing all relevant treatment records. The Veteran's hepatitis C claim will be remanded for a VA examination to determine if it is related to his military service. His PTSD and major depressive disorder rating and TDIU claims will also be remanded for further development.

The Board has reopened the claim of service connection for PTSD and found new and material evidence. However, it denied service connection for depression as there is no competent evidence linking it to service.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining VA and private treatment records. The TDIU claim is also being considered as it is intertwined with the PTSD rating issue.

The Board has determined that the appellant's discharge from military service is a bar to VA benefits due to his guilty plea and conviction for willfully disobeying a lawful command of a superior officer, resulting in a bad conduct discharge. The appellant was not insane at the time of the offense.

The Veteran's PTSD is rated at 50 percent, the maximum schedular rating for this condition. The Board also found that he does not meet the criteria for a TDIU based on his service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran meets the percentage requirements for Total Disability Rating Based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU) due to her service-connected disabilities, which include major depressive disorder and fibromyalgia. Her TDIU is granted.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to properly adjudicate the Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, including depressive disorder and PTSD. This includes obtaining updated treatment records, verifying the Veteran's reported stressors, and scheduling a VA examination.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including major depressive disorder and anxiety. The evidence is in relative equipoise as to whether his current psychiatric condition is related to military service.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD and depression was granted, resulting in a rating of 70 percent effective April 24, 2006. The decision also addressed the payment of attorney fees from past-due benefits.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining outstanding VA treatment records and issuing a statement of the case for increased evaluations for inguinal hernia and painful burn scar of the left upper extremity.

The Veteran's service-connected PTSD with major depression disorder is rated at 70 percent disabling since April 24, 2006. The Board finds that the Veteran is unemployable due to his service-connected disabilities and grants a TDIU effective from April 24, 2006.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim for service connection for a psychiatric disability, including depression and anxiety disorder. The evidence submitted since the July 2006 rating decision relates to in-service stressors that may have caused his current psychiatric disorders. As such, the claim is granted.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disability, currently diagnosed as anxiety and depression, had its onset during service and grants service connection for this condition.

The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete information and need for further examination regarding service connection for PTSD, which may be reopened based on new evidence.

The Veteran's service-connected IBS renders him unable to obtain or maintain substantially gainful employment, and the claim for major depressive disorder is no longer in dispute. Service connection has been established for a spinal disability (S1 grade 1 spondylolisthesis with symptomatology that manifested within one year of separation from active duty). The Veteran's weight loss condition does not manifest during or as a result of active military service, and the claim for chest pain is reopened but denied. Evidence received since the September 1997 rating decision is both new and material and raises a reasonable possibility of substantiating the Veteran's claims of service connection for bilateral shoulder pain, bilateral knee pain, headaches, and sinusitis.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to a scheduling issue for his requested videoconference hearing. The case will be returned to the AOJ after the hearing.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a cervical spine condition, bilateral hearing loss, an acquired psychiatric disorder (to include depression and anxiety), a seizure disorder, and migraine headaches. The effective date of any future grant of service connection would be determined based on when the application was filed.

The Board has expanded the issue of service connection for any acquired psychiatric disability to include PTSD, depressive disorder, and anxiety. The case is being remanded for a new VA examination to determine if these conditions are related to service.