Depression decisions — 2020

The Veteran's claims for service connection are remanded due to the need for additional medical examinations and evaluations. The issues include sleep apnea, narcolepsy cataplexy, PTSD and unspecified depressive disorder, and bilateral hearing loss.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not preclude him from obtaining or maintaining substantially gainful employment, and his TDIU claim is denied.

The VA denied an initial rating in excess of 70 percent for PTSD with major depressive disorder and insomnia, but granted a TDIU based on service-connected conditions.

The Board has remanded the cases for a new VA psychiatric examination to determine if the Veteran's depression and PTSD are related to his service-connected Peyronie’s disease or other factors. The issues of service connection for depression and PTSD remain on appeal.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's service-connected PTSD and depressive disorder with psychotic features cause or aggravate his asthma.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to insufficient evidence regarding the etiology of the Veteran's psychiatric and orthopedic disorders. The Veteran is presumed sound upon entry into service, but a new examination is required to determine if his current conditions are related to service.

The Veteran's PTSD (claimed as anxiety and depression) is at least as likely as not related to his military service, and the claim for service connection is granted.

The Veteran's claims for PTSD, major depressive disorder, cognitive disorder, and TBI, as well as residuals from scars on the forehead, are remanded due to lack of prior formal or informal application.

The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for various conditions, including right knee disability, left knee disability (secondary to right knee), back disability (secondary to bilateral knee disabilities), bilateral lower extremities radiculopathy (secondary to back disability), and depression (secondary to service-connected disabilities). The remand is due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the etiology of these conditions.

The Veteran's claim for a higher initial rating of 100 percent prior to January 24, 2014 is remanded due to the misfiled January 2014 examination report. The VA needs to obtain SSA records and consider them in the readjudication.

The Veteran's appeal for an extension of a temporary total evaluation and increased rating for PTSD has been dismissed due to the withdrawal of representation by his attorney.

The Veteran's appeal of service connection for a disability other than PTSD, leg disability, lumbar spine disability, and left lower extremity radiculopathy has been dismissed due to his withdrawal during the December 2019 Board hearing.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a low back condition and an initial rating in excess of 50 percent for PTSD with depressive disorder not otherwise specified. The appeal was remanded for further action on other issues, but these were no longer before the Board due to a grant of service connection for bilateral knee conditions and left ear hearing loss.

The Veteran is granted an effective date of July 2, 2011 for a disability rating of 100 percent for his service-connected acquired psychiatric disorder (schizophrenia, PTSD, and depression). The issue of entitlement to Total Disability due to Individual Unemployability (TDIU) is moot as the primary basis for the grant of TDIU would be the Veteran's service-connected mental disability.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to insufficient evidence regarding his claimed conditions and their relationship to service. The issues include an acquired psychiatric disorder, a right foot condition, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus.

The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate discussion of a May 1997 treatment note in the VA examination report. The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, is now pending and requires further medical evaluation.

The Veteran's appeals for service connection and higher ratings have been dismissed. The Board found the Veteran withdrew his appeal regarding PTSD, heart disability, prostate disability, and Alzheimer’s/dementia.

The Veteran's appeal for a higher rating for his left ankle disability has been withdrawn. The Board granted the TDIU claim, finding that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities prevent him from engaging in substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran's claims for hypercholesterolemia, back disability, acquired psychiatric disability, epilepsy, and sleep disorder on substitution basis have all been denied due to lack of evidence supporting a link between these conditions and service.,For the claim for bilateral hearing loss, the Veteran was granted secondary service connection based on his service-connected hearing loss and tinnitus.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a lung disorder was reopened due to new evidence. The Board found that the current diagnoses of asbestos-related pleural disease and anxiety and depression do not meet the criteria for service connection as they are not related to active duty service.