Depression decisions — 2023

The Board has determined that the Veteran's major depressive disorder is proximately due to his service-connected lumbar spine disability, and therefore grants service connection for this condition.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to conflicting diagnoses and a need for additional development, including obtaining medical opinions on the etiology of the Veteran's psychiatric conditions.

The Board has reopened the previously denied claim for service connection for a bilateral knee disability and remanded the claims for service connection for depressive disorder. The Veteran's current psychiatric disabilities, including PTSD and depressive disorder, are also under consideration.

The Veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability was reopened and granted. The Board found that the evidence is in relative equipoise regarding whether the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disability is proximately due to or aggravated by his service-connected disabilities, including obstructive sleep apnea, lumbago, and pes planus with bilateral plantar fasciitis.

The Veteran's TDIU claim is remanded due to ambiguity in the record regarding his earnings prior to August 18, 2016. The case will be referred for extraschedular consideration if it is determined that his employment was marginal.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, anxiety, and/or depressive disorder due to a sexual assault during service. The case is being returned for further development, including obtaining legible copies of military personnel records and scheduling a VA examination.

The Veteran's claims for increased disability rating and TDIU are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including an updated examination.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a left knee disability and remanded the issues of entitlement to increased ratings for major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder with PTSD, and TDIU.

The Board has decided to remand the case for further examination and evaluation of the Veteran's hearing loss, as well as service connection for other specified stressor disorder and persistent depression disorder. The decision on these issues is pending.

The Board has granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and depressive disorder, based on the Veteran's in-service combat experiences in Iraq. The evidence is at least in balance that he has these conditions attributable to his military service.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient verification of the Veteran's claimed stressors and for a new VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of his psychiatric disorder.

The Veteran's current acquired psychiatric disability (MDD) is not related to his active or National Guard service, and the VA examiner found no evidence that it was caused by any of his service-connected disabilities.,Secondary service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder cannot be granted as the Veteran's MDD is not related to his service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's claims for right foot scar, fractured right foot, and related radiculopathy were denied. The claim for service connection for depression was also remanded.,The Veteran's claim for right hip pain associated with his service-connected fracture was remanded.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and TDIU are being remanded due to the need for new VA examinations to assess the severity of his service-connected disabilities, including Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), Degenerative Arthritis of the Spine with IVDS and Pars Defect with Anterolisthesis of L5-L1 (spine disorder), right lower extremity sciatic nerve disability, right lower extremity femoral nerve disability, left lower extremity sciatic nerve disability, and left lower extremity femoral nerve disability. The TDIU claim is also being remanded as it is intrinsically intertwined with the other issues on appeal.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for major depressive disorder was granted, while the claim for bilateral hearing loss was denied.

The Veteran's major depressive disorder with generalized anxiety is granted as service-connected.,The right knee disability is not secondary to the service-connected left knee disability and thus denied.,An effective date of September 26, 2017, for a 30 percent rating for cluster headaches is granted.

The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disability, diagnosed as major depressive disorder with anxious stress, is granted. The most probative evidence indicates that this condition first manifested during active duty.,Service connection for erectile dysfunction is granted. The Veteran's current condition is found to be caused by his service-connected major depressive disorder with anxious stress.

The Board has found that there has not been substantial compliance with the prior November 2022 remand and further development is necessary for both Parkinson's disease and psychiatric disability claims.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for additional VA examinations and medical opinions regarding his PTSD with MDD from June 20, 2015, to June 2, 2018, and right knee instability prior to December 29, 2016, and thereafter. The Veteran's claims are also being remanded for clarification of the terms of applicable diagnostic codes.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not prevent him from obtaining and maintaining substantially gainful employment consistent with his education and occupational background, thus denying the claim for a TDIU.