Depression decisions — 2023

The Board has found that there was a duty to assist error and remanded the case for obtaining mental health treatment records from November 13, 2018 to November 13, 2019. The Veteran is required to provide authorization for these records.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's PTSD with major depressive disorder is related to his active duty service and grants this claim.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence and a need for further examination. The Veteran's claim for service connection for adjustment disorder with depression is being reviewed, but it remains unclear if there is any direct link between his current condition and his military service.

The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for persistent depressive disorder, restrictive lung disease, and laryngeal sicca due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors. The AOJ is instructed to obtain relevant medical records and provide new medical opinions.

The Board has remanded the case due to the need for additional VA treatment records, particularly related to the Veteran's acquired psychiatric conditions.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's claimed PTSD stressors and for a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of his mental health conditions.

The Veteran's appeals for service connection for right and left arm disorders, as well as a higher rating for his service-connected right knee disability, have been dismissed due to the Veteran withdrawing his appeals.,Service connection has been granted for PTSD and depression related to verified stressors in service.

The Board has granted a 10 percent rating for the Veteran's right great ingrown toenail. The remaining issues, including service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder and other disabilities, are remanded due to new evidence.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for an eye disorder and an acquired psychiatric disorder, finding that there is no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.

The Veteran's service-connected depressive disorder prevented him from obtaining and maintaining substantially gainful employment, leading to a grant of TDIU.

The Veteran's mental condition to include depressive disorder and PTSD was rated at 30 percent prior to March 5, 2019. The appeal for a higher rating is denied. An effective date prior to November 1, 2016, for the award of TDIU is also denied.

The Veteran's service-connected pyoderma gangrenosum is found to have caused his current depressive disorder with anxious distress, which grants service connection for this condition. The Veteran's tinnitus is already at the maximum schedular rating and thus no higher rating can be granted.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and an effective date are being remanded due to the need for additional examinations and records.

The Veteran's PTSD with unspecified depressive disorder was found to have more nearly approximated a 50 percent disability rating prior to April 2, 2022. The Board denied an initial disability rating in excess of 50 percent for PTSD.

The Veteran's PTSD caused total occupational and social impairment from April 27, 2016 to July 6, 2016. He was granted a 100% disability rating for this period.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD is denied because her symptoms are part of the symptomatology already addressed by her service-connected generalized anxiety disorder and unspecified depressive disorder.

The Board has remanded the case due to a pre-decisional duty-to-assist error, and the Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability is being reviewed again.

The Veteran's appeal for an initial 70 percent rating for PTSD with major depressive disorder is granted, effective from the date of the March 2023 rating decision. The issue of entitlement to a higher rating in excess of 70 percent remains pending and will be remanded.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including persistent depressive disorder, sleep apnea, lumbosacral strain, and other conditions, have rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation. The Board has granted the TDIU based on these service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's PTSD with major depressive disorder is currently rated at 70 percent from December 3, 2019 forward.,Prior to September 30, 2019, the Veteran was not granted an increased rating for his service-connected PTSD with major depressive disorder.