Depression decisions — 2022

The Veteran's service connection claim for residuals of a traumatic brain injury, to include syncope, head laceration, neurocognitive disorder, anxiety disorder, and depression is granted. The Board also grants the Veteran's claim for service connection for a chest pain condition, to include gastroesophageal reflux disorder (GERD) and Barrett's esophagus.

The Board has remanded the claim of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, due to a lack of verification of in-service stressors. The Veteran's claims are pending and will be reconsidered after further development.

The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and unspecified anxiety and depressive disorders, is granted as secondary to his service-connected Hodgkin's lymphoma. The rating for the status post left axillary/left subclavian veins blood clot remains remanded.

The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and unspecified depressive disorder, is granted as service-connected. The left hip and right hip disorders are remanded for further examination to determine if they are related to the low back disorder. The low back disorder rating remains at 40%.

The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for service connection of major depressive disorder is denied as the earliest date of receipt of a claim was May 1, 2002.

The Board has decided that there is insufficient evidence to determine if the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorders, including PTSD related to military sexual trauma (MST) and depression, are service-connected. The case will be remanded for further development.

The Board has granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, finding that it began during active service. Service connection for persistent depressive disorder is determined to be 'unknown' as the appeal does not involve this condition.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, finding that there was no evidence linking his current psychiatric conditions to his military service or a service-connected disability.

The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for his acquired psychiatric disability, including PTSD and major depressive disorder, was denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a rating in excess of 70 percent due to insufficient occupational and social impairment.

The Board has remanded the case for an additional examination to determine if the Veteran's service-connected disabilities rendered him in need of regular aid and attendance or housebound status prior to January 24, 2019, and after February 29, 2020.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for TBI, migraine headaches, and a higher rating for his depressive disorder were all granted effective April 4, 2014. The claim for an earlier effective date for the 70 percent evaluation of his depressive disorder was denied.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's claimed psychiatric disorders, including PTSD and depression. The AOJ is instructed to attempt to obtain any in-service mental health records that may have been maintained separately from her military medical records.

The Veteran's appeal for service connection of an acquired psychiatric disorder has been dismissed as he withdrew his appeal regarding a TDIU prior to June 25, 2015. The case is remanded for issuance of an SSOC considering all submitted evidence.

The Veteran's claim for a dental disability for VA outpatient treatment purposes is dismissed due to the incorrect re-adjudication in the SSOC.,Service connection for a dental disability for compensation purposes is denied as there is no evidence of service-connected trauma resulting in loss of teeth.

The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for thyroid cancer and depression due to incomplete development. The thyroid cancer claim is related to exposure at Camp Lejeune, while the depression claim may be secondary to thyroid cancer.

The Veteran's major depressive disorder with anxious distress is related to her active service, and the resulting physical disabilities are also considered secondary to this condition.,The Veteran has been granted service connection for loss of use of the left eye, optic neuropathy of the left eye, right mandible disorder, and TBI as these conditions are found to be proximately due to her major depressive disorder with anxious distress.

The Board has vacated its February 2022 decision, finding that the Veteran's claims for service connection were not properly considered due to missing evidence. The claim of service connection for a lumbar spine disability is dismissed as withdrawn by the Veteran. Service connection for a psychiatric disorder (including PTSD and unspecified depressive disorder) remains denied.

The Veteran's service-connected PTSD and depressive disorder rendered him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment as of May 15, 2021. The Board granted TDIU for this period.

The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for fibromyalgia with unexplained fatigue was denied as the evidence did not support a rating higher than 40 percent.,The Veteran's claim for TDIU was also denied because her service-connected disabilities, including fibromyalgia and depressive disorder, were not deemed to prevent her from securing or following substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran's claims for a higher rating for major depressive disorder and TDIU are being remanded due to the need for scheduling a DRO hearing and consideration of recent VA treatment records.