Depression Board decisions

The Veteran's sleep apnea is granted as secondary to his service-connected disabilities, including PTSD with MDD. The effective date for the grant of service connection for MDD is set at May 16, 2016.

The Board has decided that the Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including major depressive disorder secondary to all service-connected disabilities, needs further examination and evaluation.

The Veteran's appeal for a TDIU is dismissed as moot because he is already receiving a combined 100 percent schedular rating for his service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's service-connected major depressive disorder is currently rated at 70 percent, and the Board has ordered a new VA examination to determine if his symptoms have worsened. The TDIU claim is also remanded due to its inextricable interrelation with the psychiatric disability.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim for service connection of an acquired psychiatric disorder, including depression and PTSD. The evidence now submitted raises a reasonable possibility of substantiating that these conditions are related to his active duty service.

The Veteran's 40 percent rating for lumbosacral strain is restored.,The Veteran is granted TDIU prior to August 19, 2015.

The Board has granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including depression and anxiety, finding that the current diagnoses are at least as likely as not caused or aggravated by military service.

The Veteran's major depressive disorder with anxious distress is rated at 70 percent, effective from the date of the decision. The Veteran also received a grant for service connection for left shoulder strain with degenerative changes.

The Board has granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD due to personal assault, alcohol and drug use disorder, and MDD. The decision finds that the Veteran's current diagnoses are at least as likely as not related to his in-service stressor.

The Veteran's mental disorder, including depressive and anxiety disorders, warrants a disability rating of 70 percent since September 21, 2017. The effective date is not earlier than July 5, 2016.

The Board has denied service connection for treatment purposes under 38 U.S.C. Chapter 17 for multiple conditions including right shoulder, right knee, left knee, low back pain, restless leg syndrome, headaches (cephalalgia), chronic fatigue syndrome, and fibromyalgia. The character of the appellant's discharge from his period of service was found to be a bar to VA compensation benefits.

The Veteran's depressive disorder has been rated at 70 percent from December 30, 2013 to August 27, 2018, due to occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's depressive disorder is secondary to his service-connected lumbosacral spine disability, and thus grants service connection for this condition.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to conflicting medical evidence regarding whether the Veteran has a diagnosis of PTSD based on a corroborated stressor event in service, and the nature and etiology of any psychiatric disability other than PTSD found.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining additional medical records and providing a VA examination to address whether the Veteran's depression is secondary to his service-connected duodenal ulcer.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient reasoning in the previous VA opinion regarding whether the Veteran's PTSD and MDD are service-connected. The case needs further examination to address these issues.

The Board has determined that additional evidence is needed to properly adjudicate the Veteran's claims for service connection of various psychiatric disabilities, including depression, anxiety disorder, panic disorder without agoraphobia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. The case is being remanded for further development.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection are remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions and treatment records.

The Board has determined that the claims for service connection for various conditions, including right back pain, cervical spinal stenosis, chronic sinusitis, and depression are remanded due to incomplete development of records.

The Veteran's depression is granted as secondary to his service-connected tinnitus and headaches.