Depression decisions — 2019

The Board has granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including depression and anxiety, finding that the current diagnoses are at least as likely as not caused or aggravated by military service.

The Veteran's major depressive disorder with anxious distress is rated at 70 percent, effective from the date of the decision. The Veteran also received a grant for service connection for left shoulder strain with degenerative changes.

The Board has granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD due to personal assault, alcohol and drug use disorder, and MDD. The decision finds that the Veteran's current diagnoses are at least as likely as not related to his in-service stressor.

The Veteran's mental disorder, including depressive and anxiety disorders, warrants a disability rating of 70 percent since September 21, 2017. The effective date is not earlier than July 5, 2016.

The Board has denied service connection for treatment purposes under 38 U.S.C. Chapter 17 for multiple conditions including right shoulder, right knee, left knee, low back pain, restless leg syndrome, headaches (cephalalgia), chronic fatigue syndrome, and fibromyalgia. The character of the appellant's discharge from his period of service was found to be a bar to VA compensation benefits.

The Veteran's depressive disorder has been rated at 70 percent from December 30, 2013 to August 27, 2018, due to occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's depressive disorder is secondary to his service-connected lumbosacral spine disability, and thus grants service connection for this condition.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to conflicting medical evidence regarding whether the Veteran has a diagnosis of PTSD based on a corroborated stressor event in service, and the nature and etiology of any psychiatric disability other than PTSD found.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining additional medical records and providing a VA examination to address whether the Veteran's depression is secondary to his service-connected duodenal ulcer.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient reasoning in the previous VA opinion regarding whether the Veteran's PTSD and MDD are service-connected. The case needs further examination to address these issues.

The Board has determined that additional evidence is needed to properly adjudicate the Veteran's claims for service connection of various psychiatric disabilities, including depression, anxiety disorder, panic disorder without agoraphobia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. The case is being remanded for further development.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection are remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions and treatment records.

The Board has determined that the claims for service connection for various conditions, including right back pain, cervical spinal stenosis, chronic sinusitis, and depression are remanded due to incomplete development of records.

The Veteran's depression is granted as secondary to his service-connected tinnitus and headaches.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the Veteran's service connection for PTSD and related psychiatric disorders.

The Board has found that the Veteran's appeal of the effective date for PTSD with depressive disorder is timely and has ordered a Statement of the Case (SOC) to address this issue.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for depression has been reopened due to the submission of new evidence that relates to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claim.

The Board has remanded several issues, including the claim for service connection for residuals of a head injury and psychiatric disorder other than PTSD (including depression), as well as the issue of an initial rating higher than 10 percent for right knee strain. The TDIU issue is also remanded due to its interdependence with these claims.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for major depressive disorder with anxious distress, finding that his condition is at least as likely as not due to his active duty service.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development due to inadequate medical opinions regarding service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including major depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, alcohol use disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The TDIU claim is also being deferred until further development on the service connection issue.