Depression decisions — 2019

The Board has remanded the case due to missing pages in the Veteran's appeal and for a VA examination to determine the nature and cause of any acquired psychological disorder.

The Board dismissed the veteran's appeals regarding increased ratings for hearing loss, bilateral upper and lower extremity impairments due to Parkinson's disease, and an earlier effective date for service connection of depression.

The Board denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, finding that the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of a psychiatric disability and did not meet the criteria for service connection.

The Veteran's tinnitus is granted as a residual of his service-connected TBI. The Board has remanded the cases for further development and consideration.

The Veteran's appeals for service connection and evaluations related to various conditions have been dismissed.,The Veteran has also been granted a TDIU based on her service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's claim for service connection of a depressive disorder was granted with an effective date of February 19, 2013. A rating of 70 percent for the depressive disorder from February 19, 2013 to February 21, 2017 was also granted. The Veteran's eligibility for Dependents' Educational Assistance benefits based on permanent total service-connected disability was denied as there is no evidence he had such a condition prior to February 21, 2017.

The Veteran's TDIU claim is remanded due to the need for additional medical evaluation and consideration of his nonservice-connected back injury. The VA also needs to obtain his SSA disability records.

The Veteran's duodenal ulcers are granted service connection. The appeal regarding the rating for migraine headaches is dismissed. The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disability (to include depression) is remanded.

The Board has dismissed the appeals for an increased initial rating for left lower extremity radiculopathy and an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for left lower extremity radiculopathy. The appeal for service connection for OSA, a psychiatric disability, and the spinal disability is remanded.

The Veteran's claims for service connection have been granted, with some issues having effective dates prior to specific dates. The decision also includes the grant of SMC based on loss of use of a creative organ.

The Veteran's claim for an increased rating in excess of 70 percent prior to October 31, 2018 for his acquired psychiatric disability was denied. The Board found that the evidence did not show memory loss severe enough to affect his ability to remember personal information such as his own name or occupation.

The appeal for infertility is dismissed.,PTSD and headache disability claims are denied.,Depressive disorder claim is remanded.

The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disability, including major depressive disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder, has been granted a 70 percent rating for the entire appeal period. The symptoms have resulted in occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas such as work, school, family relations, judgment, or mood.

The Board has granted the motion for reconsideration and vacated its previous decision denying service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including depressive disorder and anxiety. The new evidence submitted by the Veteran's representative was considered in this reconsideration.

The Veteran's service-connected major depressive disorder is currently rated at 50 percent, and the Board has determined that a higher rating is not warranted based on the evidence of record.

The Board has denied service connection for ischemic heart disease and chloracne. The issues of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder (including PTSD and depression), prostate cancer, and diabetes mellitus are remanded due to the need for further verification of exposure and examination.

The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including major depressive disorder, is currently rated at 50 percent. The Board found that the symptoms do not warrant a higher rating as they are consistent with a 50 percent disability rating.

The Veteran's claim for an initial compensable disability rating for service-connected migraine headaches has been denied.,The Veteran's claims for service connection for anxiety with sleep disturbance and major depressive disorder have been remanded.

The Veteran's depression with sleep disorder and anxiety had its onset in service, and the Board granted service connection for these conditions.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is denied as there is no evidence of in-service noise exposure and the current disability is not related to service.,The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including bipolar disorder, depression, and anxiety, is denied as there is no evidence that these conditions had their onset during service or are otherwise etiologically related to service.