Depression decisions — 2023

The Board has denied service connection for a sleep disorder, left ear hearing loss, and an acquired psychiatric disability. The case is being remanded to obtain additional VA treatment records.,Service connection for the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disability will be considered on a direct basis.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a separate rating for PTSD and service connection for 'Other Specified Trauma and stressor-related disorder, adjustment like disorders with prolonged duration of more than 6 months without the prolonged duration of stressor and Alcohol Use Disorder, Moderate'. The Board found no current diagnosis of PTSD and concluded that the Veteran already had service-connected major depressive disorder.

The Veteran's appeal involves multiple service-connected conditions, including Parkinson's disease and major depressive disorder. The Board has remanded several issues for further review due to the complexity of his case.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient information regarding periods of active duty training and inactive duty training in the Utah National Guard. The Veteran's claims for service connection are pending until this information is obtained.

The Veteran's PTSD symptoms do not cause total occupational and social impairment, so the claim for a higher rating is denied.

The Board has granted effective dates of July 1, 2016 for the service connection of tinnitus, bilateral hearing loss, low back disability, left lower extremity radiculopathy, right lower extremity radiculopathy, linear scar from hernia surgery, adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depression, migraine headaches, epididymitis, and residual scar from hernia operation.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric condition, including PTSD, depression, OCD, anxiety, and schizoaffective disorder. The Board found that the Veteran had current diagnoses of these conditions and established a causal link to his in-service stressors.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to a duty-to-assist error in the previous rating decision, and thus, further development is needed.

The Board has dismissed the Veteran's appeals regarding entitlement to a compensable rating for migraine headaches, service connection for a sleep disorder, radiating pain in the right lower extremity, sinusitis, lumbar spine disorder, ganglion cyst of the left foot, depression, left foot bone sprain, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus. The appeals are dismissed due to improper use of an outdated appeal form.

The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings of OSA and depressive disorder, as well as service connection for a right knee strain, were denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support granting any of these claims.

The Veteran's initial claim for PTSD was denied in October 2015, but service connection was granted with an effective date of August 27, 2018. The Veteran is currently rated at a 50% disability rating for PTSD as of August 4, 2023.

The Veteran's major depressive disorder is rated at a 50 percent disability rating, effective July 6, 2022. The Board found the evidence to be approximately evenly balanced as to whether the symptoms and overall impairment caused by the Veteran's major depressive disorder more nearly approximated the criteria for a 30 or 50 percent rating.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss was denied as there is no evidence of a current disability.,The Veteran's claim for an initial rating in excess of 70 percent for PTSD with dissociative symptoms and persistent depressive disorder was also denied due to the lack of total occupational and social impairment.

The Board has granted service connection for an unspecified depressive disorder, finding that it is at least as likely as not related to the Veteran's service-connected knee disabilities.

The Veteran's appeal for a higher rating for her left hip disability and service connection for psychiatric disabilities and drug addiction is remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions.

The Veteran is granted an initial 70 percent rating for PTSD, unspecified depressive disorder, unspecified anxiety disorder, and cocaine use disorder. The effective date remains March 18, 2011.

The Board has granted service connection for major depressive disorder, posttraumatic headaches, and residuals of a stroke. The claims were reopened based on the submission of new evidence.

The Board has remanded the claim for service connection of an acquired psychiatric disorder due to outstanding VA and private treatment records, as well as a need for a VA examination.

The Board has remanded the case due to an inadequate VA examination, and further development is required.

The Board has granted an effective date of July 15, 2013 for the award of Total Disability Rating Based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU) due to the Veteran's service-connected disabilities. The portion of the decision that dismissed entitlement to an earlier effective date prior to December 6, 2016, is vacated.