Depression decisions — 2019

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to insufficient development of his TDIU claim. The Board finds that additional comment and a medical opinion are required before making a decision on the TDIU claim.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to insufficient evidence and need for further examination. The issues include right ankle disability, bilateral foot disabilities, obstructive sleep apnea, and acquired psychiatric disabilities.

The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and depression, is granted as service connected due to a stressor that occurred during active duty in Korea.

The Board has reopened the previously denied claim of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder due to new and material evidence. The case is remanded for further development, including obtaining missing service personnel records, VA treatment records, and private treatment records; notifying the Veteran of the types of evidence that may corroborate his reported in-service stressor of being raped; scheduling a VA medical examination; and readjudicating the claim.

The Board has remanded the case due to deficiencies in the rationale provided by the VA examiner and the need for additional development of records, including obtaining service treatment records and mental health treatment records.

The Veteran's TDIU and Dependents' Educational Assistance eligibility were granted effective January 5, 2004. The Board found the Veteran was unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation due to his service-connected disabilities.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation, and thus his TDIU benefits are denied.

The Veteran's claim of service connection for a psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and depressive disorder, is reopened due to the receipt of new and material evidence. The appeal is granted in part as it relates to the reopening of this claim.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and depression, is related to service and grants service connection for this condition.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for a psychiatric disorder and a rating increase for chronic lumbar strain due to insufficient evidence in their original decisions.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient development of evidence regarding the Veteran's reported stressor and his acquired psychiatric disorders, including PTSD and major depressive disorder.

The Veteran's schizoaffective disorder is rated at 70 percent from February 7, 1983 to October 6, 2017. A TDIU is granted but the Board finds a remand necessary for further development and an opinion regarding the severity of his disability prior to May 11, 2007.

The Board has remanded the issues of increased evaluations for fibromyalgia, GERD with constipation, and depressive disorder, as well as a TDIU claim. The effective dates for service connection are denied.

The claim for service connection for anxiety is dismissed as moot. The Veteran's TBI does not require the need for personal health-care services provided on a daily basis in his home by a licensed health-care professional, thus denying special monthly compensation based on aid and attendance (SMC T).

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not preclude him from obtaining or maintaining substantially gainful employment prior to April 22, 2016.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression is denied as there is no current diagnosis of a mental health condition.

The Veteran's claim for service connection of major depressive disorder is granted as secondary to his generalized anxiety disorder. The earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for generalized anxiety disorder is set at September 13, 2012. Other claims are remanded for further development.

The Board denied service connection for an unspecified depressive disorder as it was not caused or aggravated by the Veteran's service-connected disabilities. The claims of increased ratings and TDIU were also remanded.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a psychiatric disorder other than PTSD with major depression is dismissed. His claim for an increased disability rating for thoracolumbar strain with IVDS (previously diagnosed as midthoracic strain) prior to March 28, 2017 is granted.

The Veteran's service-connected major depressive disorder is not considered to have contributed to his cause of death, which was atherosclerotic hypertensive cardiovascular disease and hypertension. The Board found that the medical evidence does not support the claim that the depression worsened or caused the heart condition.