Depression decisions — 2019

The Board is remanding the claims for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, left knee instability, right knee disorder, herpes simplex, and various hip conditions. The Veteran has submitted new evidence that needs to be considered in a Supplemental Statement of the Case (SSOC).

The Veteran's rating for major depressive disorder with anxious distress and panic disorder with agoraphobia is denied, but a TDIU is granted.

The Veteran's PTSD with depressive disorder is granted an initial 70 percent evaluation, effective from the date of the decision.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral spondylolysis of the lumbar spine has been reopened and is granted. However, his claims for hypertension, GERD, depression, osteoarthritis of the left hip, and osteoarthritis of the right hip remain denied.,Service connection was not established for any of the Veteran's conditions due to lack of evidence linking them to service.

The Veteran's major depressive disorder with anxiety is granted a rating of 70 percent, effective October 9, 2012. The hearing loss disability remains noncompensable.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, was denied. His claims for visual field loss and TBI were granted with respective ratings of 30% and 10%. The claim for multiple noncompensable disabilities was denied.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to insufficient evidence and need for further examination. The issues include bilateral eye disorder, an acquired psychiatric disorder (including PTSD, anxiety disorder, and depression), and Gulf War Syndrome with unexplained chronic multisymptom illness.

The Veteran's TDIU claim is granted from June 16, 2014. The case is remanded for consideration of extraschedular TDIU prior to that date.

The Veteran's depression is granted as service connected, and an earlier effective date of March 26, 2015 for a 50% rating for migraine headaches is granted.

The Veteran's appeal for restoration of a 40 percent rating for lumbar spine degenerative disc disease is granted, effective August 1, 2014. The appeals for service connection for bilateral flat feet, an acquired psychological disorder other than PTSD, and a rating in excess of 40 percent for lumbar spine DDD are remanded.

The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for additional development due to insufficient medical opinions and potential missing service records. The low back disability claim is being remanded because of inadequate VA examination, while the PTSD with depression and anxiety claim requires consideration of recent VA treatment records.

The Board has determined that additional development is necessary to address the Veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD and whether her service-connected primary insomnia has aggravated any diagnosed psychiatric disorders. The case is being remanded for further examination and opinion.

The Veteran's major depressive disorder is granted, with a disability rating of 30 percent. The other conditions are denied.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's bilateral knee, left ankle, and right ankle disabilities as secondary to his service-connected bilateral pes planus. The mental health disability is also found to be secondary to these musculoskeletal conditions.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including sleep apnea, PTSD with depressive disorder, left ankle degenerative changes, right knee degenerative arthritis, right knee laxity, and tinea and lymphocytic leukemia, have rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a back disability, bilateral hip disability, bilateral knee disability, and an acquired psychiatric disorder (PTSD, mood disorder, anxiety and depression) as there is no evidence that these conditions began during active service or are otherwise related to in-service injuries or diseases.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection of his acquired psychiatric disorders, finding that there was no evidence to support a causal relationship between his current conditions and his military service or any service-connected disability.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient information regarding whether the Veteran's service-connected disabilities caused or aggravated his acquired psychiatric condition. The Veteran will need a VA examination to determine this.

The Board has remanded several issues including service connection for hypertension, erectile dysfunction, and depressive disorder. The effective date of the grant of service connection for bilateral hearing loss remains May 16, 2012.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not meet the schedular criteria for a TDIU rating prior to December 5, 2016. The Board denied his claim as he did not have at least one disability rated at 40 percent with a combined evaluation of 80 percent.