Depression decisions — 2025

The Board remands the claims for a supplemental medical opinion regarding the severity of the Veteran's knee and ankle disabilities without medication, as well as an opinion on the etiology of his psychiatric conditions.

The Board granted service connection for left knee pain with functional loss, right knee pain with functional loss, left shin splints, right shin splints, and an acquired psychiatric disorder, diagnosed as depression, anxiety, and somatic disorder. The claim for an increased rating for a left ankle fracture was denied.

The Board denied the Veteran's appeal for a rating in excess of 70 percent for service-connected acquired psychiatric disorders, finding that his symptoms did not cause total social and occupational impairment.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, including anxiety and depression, as there is no evidence of a current diagnosis during the pendency of the claim.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for an earlier effective date for service connection for PTSD and for separate service connection for depression, finding that the evidence did not support a separate diagnosis of depression distinct from her service-connected PTSD.

The Board granted service connection for major depressive disorder with anxious distress.

The veteran withdrew the appeal for service connection for bipolar disorder and an earlier effective date for a 100 percent evaluation of Major Depressive Disorder, Recurrent - Severe with Anxious Distress with Alcohol Use Disorder, Severe; Intermittent Explosive Disorder.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and remanded the claims for other specified depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, somatic symptom disorder, alcohol use disorder, left hip condition, left knee condition, left lower extremity radiculopathy, left upper extremity radiculopathy, right hip condition, right knee condition, right lower extremity radiculopathy, right upper extremity radiculopathy, shin splints, left leg, shin splints, right leg, and traumatic brain injury (TBI) for further development.

The appeal for a higher rating and earlier effective date for PTSD was dismissed to foster proper adjudicatory processes before the agency of original jurisdiction.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for various conditions, including a left knee disability, CTS in both hands and hips, MDD, and OSA, due to inadequate medical opinions.

The Board denied increased ratings for bilateral hearing loss, horizontal surgical scars of the anterior neck, and major depressive disorder (MDD), but granted an extraschedular total disability rating based on individual unemployability as of November 12, 2015.

The Board denied the Veteran's entitlement to a rating in excess of 30 percent for depressive disorder and a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU).

The Board remands the claim for a new VA examination to address the Veteran's lay statements regarding the severity and functional impact of his psychiatric symptoms.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, finding that there was no evidence of a current diagnosis consistent with the DSM-5.

The Board granted service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depressive disorder with alcohol use disorder, but denied a rating in excess of 10 percent for dermatosis of the bilateral hands.

The Board granted an earlier effective date of August 25, 2017, for the grant of service connection for major depressive disorder with mood congruent psychotic features.

The Board remands the claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as additional development is necessary to satisfy specific statutory requirements.

The Veteran's service-connected major depressive disorder, recurrent, moderate, with anxious distress, alone prevented him from obtaining or maintaining gainful employment.

The Board denied service connection for a psychiatric disability, to include major depressive disorder, recurrent, mild, with anxious distress, under 38 U.S.C. Chapter 17.

The Board granted service connection for headaches and depression as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected tinnitus and hearing loss.