Depression decisions — 2019

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for strokes and major depressive disorder, attributing them to exposure to contaminants in the water supply at Camp Lejeune. The decision found that there was no direct evidence linking these conditions to service or the exposure.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's service connection claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and depressive disorder. The VA is instructed to obtain additional medical records and conduct a VA examination to determine if any of these conditions are related to service.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD is remanded due to the presence of other diagnosed psychiatric disorders, and a new examination is needed.

The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, claimed as unspecified depressive disorder and PTSD, was not present in service and is not related to service or to an incident of service origin.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the onset and relationship of the Veteran's psychiatric disorders, including major depressive disorder, mood disorder, and bipolar disorder, with service. The VA must provide an addendum opinion addressing whether these conditions are related to PTSD or aggravated by it.

The Veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected disability, and there is no evidence of an acquired psychiatric disorder during the pendency of his claim. The Board denied both claims.

The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for unspecified depressive disorder was denied. The Board found no evidence indicating that the Veteran filed a claim prior to July 25, 2013, and thus could not assign an earlier effective date. For the TDIU issue, the Board determined that there was at least equipoise evidence showing that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities prevented him from securing and following substantially gainful employment prior to February 27, 2019.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability other than PTSD, to include depression, is denied as there is no evidence of a current disability related to active service.

The Veteran's PTSD, with secondary depressive disorder, is productive of total occupational and social impairment. The Board has granted a 100% disability rating for these conditions.

The Board has remanded the case due to a lack of complete military personnel records, which may contain information verifying the Veteran's service during his 2003 deployment and help establish service connection for anxiety and depression.

The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including depressive disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), is rated at 70 percent disabling. The appeal for a higher rating is denied.

The Board has vacated the September 2018 decision denying service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder and granted it, finding that the Veteran's current psychiatric condition is related to his military service.

The Board denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD and depression, due to lack of a confirmed diagnosis and no evidence establishing a causal relationship between the Veteran's depression and his military service. The claim was not reopened as new and material evidence was not received.

The Board denied service connection for PTSD, MDD, and Sleep Apnea. The Veteran's claims were based on direct evidence of current diagnoses without a verified in-service stressor or other causative link.

The Veteran's depressive disorder is granted as secondary to his service-connected bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus. For the period from March 14, 2019 onwards, a 10% disability rating for bilateral hearing loss is granted.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for an increased rating for his acquired psychiatric disorder and basic eligibility to Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) due to incomplete development of records and need for a VA examination.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD and other acquired psychiatric disorders. A new VA examination is needed to determine if these conditions are related to military service.

The Board has decided that the Veteran's heart condition resulting in a pacemaker implantation is not service-connected, and remanded for further action to consider direct service connection as well as secondary service connection.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records and scheduling a VA examination to assess the severity of her sinusitis with sinus headaches. The issues of service connection for unspecified depressive disorder on a secondary basis and a rating in excess of 10 percent for sinusitis are also remanded.

The Board has remanded several issues related to the Veteran's claims, including service connection for histrionic personality disorder, PTSD due to military sexual trauma, bipolar disorder, and an initial rating in excess of 30 percent for other specified anxiety disorder with symptoms of depression. The AOJ is instructed to request private treatment records from TCN in Xenia, develop a claim for TDIU, issue a statement of the case regarding the earlier effective date for service connection, and readjudicate the issues considering all evidence added since the June 2018 statement of the case.