Depression decisions — 2017

The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, MDD, GAD, and panic disorder with agoraphobia, is rated at 70 percent effective May 20, 2009. The claim for an earlier effective date for TDIU remains pending.

The Veteran's psychiatric condition, now diagnosed as bipolar disorder, has been determined to warrant a 100 percent disability rating throughout the appeal period.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's major depressive disorder and panic disorder are causally related to service, granting service connection for these conditions.

The Veteran's appeal has been withdrawn by his representative, resulting in the dismissal of the case.

The Board dismissed the appeal due to the death of the appellant.

The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorders, specifically panic disorder and depression, are found to have been incurred during his period of active duty service.

The Board has remanded the case for a VA psychiatric examination to determine if any diagnosed acquired psychiatric disorders are related to service. The Veteran was previously denied service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder, and now appeals for other acquired psychiatric conditions.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of PTSD and therefore, service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder due to exposure to ionizing radiation is denied.

The Board found no evidence of a current psychiatric disability related to service and denied the Veteran's claims for service connection. The Veteran was diagnosed with malingering during VA examination, and his inconsistent self-report led to the conclusion that he did not have a reliable informant.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining Social Security Administration records and scheduling VA examinations to assess his psychiatric condition and back disability.

The Board has granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including depression and anxiety.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD, is being remanded due to inadequate VA examination and failure to substantially comply with Board remand directives.

The Board found that the Appellant's diagnosed schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and depressive disorder did not manifest during his period of active duty for training (ACDUTRA) and are not due to an injury or disease incurred during ACDUTRA. Therefore, service connection was denied.

The Veteran's claim for service connection is being remanded to obtain additional evidence, including Social Security Administration records.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have an acquired psychiatric disorder other than depression, and therefore cannot establish service connection for such a condition.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to obtain clarification on the nature of his claimed depression and its etiology, as well as to obtain any outstanding VA medical records. The case will be reconsidered after this additional development.

The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disability, including dysthymic disorder and depression, has been granted an initial evaluation of 30 percent for the period prior to December 3, 2015. For the period from December 3, 2015, his condition is not rated higher than 70 percent.

The Veteran's claim for an increased disability rating for bilateral hearing loss prior to October 1, 2015, and in excess of 60 percent thereafter is denied as the evidence does not support a higher evaluation based on the current state of his hearing impairment.

The Veteran's PTSD and depression have been rated at 30 percent since the initial grant of service connection, reflecting predominant symptoms such as depressed mood, chronic sleep impairment, disturbances of motivation and mood, and difficulty in establishing effective work and social relationships.

The Veteran's major depressive disorder is related to military service and he has been granted service connection for this condition.,Tourette's syndrome was not noted at the time of his enlistment, but pre-existed his active service. The Board found that it was aggravated by service.