Depression Board decisions

The Board granted restoration of the 70% rating for unspecified depressive disorder with anxious distress and denied an initial disability rating in excess of 70% and a TDIU.

The Board granted service connection for tinnitus and remanded the claims for anxiety, bipolar disorder, depression, and bilateral hearing loss for further development.

The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder, as well as obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) secondary to a service-connected depression disability.

The Board granted service connection for an unspecified anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder, finding a nexus between the Veteran's mental health symptoms and her hardship discharge during active service.

The Board granted service connection for multiple disabilities, including right and left knee, back, right and left lower extremity nerve, PTSD (now claimed as depression), gout, and obstructive sleep apnea, all secondary to the Veteran's service-connected back disability.

The veteran has withdrawn the appeal for all service connection claims.

The Board granted service connection for major depressive disorder as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected seizure disorder and denied service connection for chronic fatigue syndrome. The appeal regarding sleep apnea was remanded.

The appeal was dismissed due to a procedural defect in the Veteran's January 2022 VA Form 10182, which resulted from a prohibited concurrent election under VA claims processing rules.

The Board remands the claim for readjudication as new and relevant evidence was received, broadening the scope of the claim to include an acquired psychiatric disorder variously diagnosed as PTSD.

The Board denied a rating in excess of 70 percent for service-connected depressive disorder and denied earlier effective dates for total disability due to individual unemployability and Dependents' Educational Assistance, but granted special monthly compensation based on the need for regular aid and attendance.

The Board granted service connection for a cervical spine disability and bilateral hearing loss, while denying service connection for asthma, anxiety disorder, adjustment disorder, depressive disorder, GERD, migraines (also claimed as headaches), insomnia, left hip disability, right hip disability, and plantar fasciitis.

The Board denied the veteran's appeal for a higher initial disability rating in excess of 50 percent for his service-connected depressive disorder, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the current level of impairment.

The Board granted an initial rating of 70 percent for major depressive disorder (MDD) from December 27, 2021.

The Board granted an initial rating of 70 percent for Persistent Depressive Disorder (PDD) but denied TDIU based on the Veteran's PDD alone.

The appeal for service connection for PTSD with persistent depressive disorder and a thoracolumbar spine disability was dismissed due to a claims processing error, while the appeal for sinusitis was denied. The Veteran's initial rating for mild restrictive lung disease (RLD) was granted.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for PTSD, major depressive disorder, anxiety, hearing loss, and a degenerative spine condition due to VA's failure to obtain relevant records from the Social Security Administration (SSA) and its failure to properly schedule examinations.

The Board remands the claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder to correct a pre-decisional duty to assist error, as no VA examination or medical opinion addressing the etiology of the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disability has been conducted.

The Board granted an earlier effective date of January 23, 2000, for the grant of service connection for PTSD and MDD.

The Board granted service connection for left great toe fracture, bilateral hallux valgus, and major depressive disorder, while denying posttraumatic stress disorder and granting erectile dysfunction as secondary to the major depressive disorder. A 30 percent disability rating was assigned for the left great toe fracture.

The Board denied service connection for a psychiatric disorder, to include major depressive disorder and PTSD, as the evidence did not support a finding of an in-service disease or injury related to a psychiatric disorder, nor was there a credible supporting evidence that any claimed in-service stressor actually occurred.