Depression decisions — 2023

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation from December 20, 2006, to June 2, 2009.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for traumatic brain injury (TBI) residuals with cognitive disorder, major depressive disorder, and tension headaches have been denied. The evidence does not support a current diagnosis of TBI or any related conditions.,There is no medical evidence showing the Veteran had a TBI during or after his military service.

The Veteran's claims have been remanded due to the need for further evaluation and evidence, including service connection for various conditions secondary to existing disabilities.

The Board has decided that the Veteran's claim for service connection for hyperthyroidism, as secondary to her service-connected major depressive disorder, needs further investigation and evidence collection. The case is being sent back to the RO for this purpose.

The Veteran's initial claim for a higher rating for panic disorder with agoraphobia and unspecified depressive disorder with sleep disturbance was granted, effective May 29, 2011. A maximum 100 percent rating was also granted effective January 8, 2018.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including mild unspecific depressive disorder, finding that there was no evidence of a current disability and insufficient medical opinion to establish a link between his in-service experiences and his current condition.

The Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 50 percent for depression prior to October 7, 2019, and entitlement to TDIU prior to that date was denied. The Board found the evidence did not support a higher rating.

The Veteran's migraine headaches are aggravated by his service-connected major depressive disorder, and the Board has granted service connection for this condition.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including bipolar disorder and PTSD. The VA needs to obtain additional information about the Veteran's stressors during service and provide a new medical opinion on the etiology of his anxiety disorder, other unspecified depressive disorder, and adjustment disorder.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and TDIU are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining updated VA medical records and information about the qualifications of certain examiners.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for anxiety with depression, tinnitus, and bilateral hearing loss due to new evidence submitted by the Veteran. The claim for tinnitus is granted as it likely began during service, but the claim for bilateral hearing loss is denied.

The Board denied the Appellant's claims for increased disability ratings above, and remanded several issues due to insufficient evidence.

The Board has granted an initial 70 percent rating for PTSD with major depressive disorder, effective April 26, 2011. The issue of a higher rating for right knee sprain is remanded.

The Veteran's claims for service connection and increased ratings are being remanded due to the need for additional examinations, including VA examinations for his acquired psychiatric disorder, neck disability, low back disability, right knee disability, left shoulder disability, sleep apnea, right ear hearing loss, and left ear hearing loss (for VA purposes).

The Veteran's tinnitus was denied as it did not manifest within one year of separation from service and is not otherwise related to active service.,Service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including adjustment disorder and depression, was denied due to lack of evidence showing the disorders began during or were related to service. The earliest reported onset was many years after discharge.,The Veteran's right knee disability was denied as there was no diagnosis in service or post-service that could be linked to active duty. No current disability was found by VA examinations.,Similarly, the left knee disability was denied due to lack of a diagnosed condition and no link to service.

The Board has decided that the Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 50 percent for major depression with anxious distress should be remanded due to new evidence being added to the claims file.

The Veteran's MDD with history of psychotic features is granted as service-connected. The issue regarding other psychiatric disorders remains pending.

The Veteran's claims for increased disability ratings are being remanded as the most recent VA examinations do not provide sufficient information to determine the current severity of his service-connected conditions. He needs new examinations to accurately assess the extent and severity of his headaches, depressive disorder, and right knee patellofemoral pain syndrome with arthritis.

The Veteran's MDD and headaches have been rated based on their severity, with some issues granted and others denied. The rating for MDD remains at 50% prior to August 19, 2022, but is denied for a higher rating after that date. Headaches are rated as 30% from August 7, 2019 to September 17, 2022, and denied for a higher rating starting from September 17, 2022.

The Veteran's claims for depression, memory loss, and social anxiety are denied as there is no evidence of a separate psychiatric disorder from his service-connected PTSD.,The claim for an undiagnosed illness (claimed as Gulf War syndrome) is denied due to lack of objective indications of a chronic disability.