Depression decisions — 2025

The appeal for service connection for depression and anxiety, as well as the appeal for an increased rating for hypertension, are dismissed.

The veteran withdrew his appeal for all service connection claims, and the Board has no jurisdiction to review these claims.

The Board remands the claims for service connection and higher ratings due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors.

The Board denied service connection for tinnitus, and remanded the claims for residuals of a head injury, memory loss, major depressive disorder (depression), right hip strain, and a right shoulder condition due to deficiencies in the evidence.

The appeal of the proposed rating reduction from 70 percent to 50 percent for service-connected major depressive disorder is dismissed because it was not a final decision.

The Board remands the claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD, anxiety, depression, and alcohol use disorder, due to a need for additional development of evidence.

The Board granted a 100 percent disability rating for PTSD, major depressive disorder, and alcohol use disorder with traumatic brain injury from October 26, 2018, to March 24, 2021, due to the Veteran's symptoms approximating total occupational and social impairment.

The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability and PTSD with schizoaffective disorder, but denied service connection for depression and bipolar disorder. The effective date for the awards of service connection was set to November 6, 2017.

The Board granted a 70 percent disability rating for the Veteran's unspecified depressive disorder, finding that his symptoms more nearly approximated occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas during the appeal period.

The Board granted an initial evaluation of 20 percent for degenerative arthritis, degenerative joint disease, and degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine but denied higher ratings for other conditions.

The Board remands the claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include anxiety and depression, as new and relevant evidence has been received but was not considered in the previous decision.

The Board denied an initial disability rating in excess of 50 percent for major depressive disorder, finding that the Veteran's symptoms did not cause a level of impairment required for a higher rating.

The Veteran's other unspecified trauma and stressor related disorder with major depressive disorder and unspecified anxiety disorder was granted a 70 percent disability rating, but no higher. The lumbosacral strain was denied a higher disability rating.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities rendered him unable to obtain or maintain substantially gainful employment as of April 24, 2022, and a higher rating for his major depressive disorder and cocaine use disorder with PTSD and TBI was denied.

The Board denied a rating in excess of 70 percent for PTSD, granted a 20 percent rating for prostate cancer, and denied ratings in excess of 10 percent for bilateral hearing loss. The Board also denied service connection for generalized anxiety disorder, other specified depressive disorder, gout, and tremors.

The Board denied service connection for multiple conditions, including depression, anxiety, and memory loss, as the evidence did not support a finding that these conditions began during active service or are related to an in-service injury.

The Veteran's major depressive disorder was granted an initial rating of 50 percent prior to December 11, 2019, and a 70 percent rating from that date forward.

The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD, major depressive disorder (MDD), and anxiety, based on the Veteran's active-duty service in Thailand during the Vietnam War.

The Board granted an effective date of March 12, 2021 for the award of special monthly compensation (SMC) based on housebound criteria due to the Veteran's service-connected depression rendering him unable to secure or maintain substantially gainful employment.

The Board remands the claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include unspecified depressive disorder and PTSD, due to a duty-to-assist error regarding an addendum opinion.