Depression Board decisions

PTSD is rated at 70% since February 8, 1999 and TDIU was granted from February 8, 1999 to December 9, 2002 and January 8, 2004 to March 20, 2004.,PTSD remains rated at 70% since December 9, 2002.

The Veteran's PTSD has been rated at 70 percent since January 8, 2010. The Board finds that the disability more nearly approximates occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas such as work, family relations, judgment, thinking, and mood.

The Board found no evidence of a chronic disease in service or within one year following service, and the Veteran's lay testimony regarding his onset of psychiatric disorder was not credible. The Board also found that there is no probative evidence linking any current left knee condition or frostbite residuals to service.

The Veteran's major depressive disorder with bipolar disorder has been rated at 10 percent, and the Board has granted a 100 percent rating for this condition. The issue of whether there was clear and unmistakable error in the February 2008 rating decision denying service connection for COPD is remanded.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's previously denied claims of service connection for left and right knee disorders, as well as his acquired psychiatric disorder. The evidence is at least in equipoise regarding whether these conditions are related to service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not meet the diagnostic criteria for PTSD, and his depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, and mood disorder are not related to service or any incident therein. As such, service connection is denied.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's PTSD and Major Depressive Disorder are related to his service, specifically his fear of hostile military activity while stationed at Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand. The claim for service connection is therefore granted.

The Board has ordered a new VA examination to determine if the Veteran's current psychiatric disabilities are related to service or his service-connected asbestosis. The case is being remanded for further development.

The Veteran's appeals have been withdrawn, and the claims are dismissed.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, including depression, anxiety and PTSD, is being remanded due to the need for a new examination.

The Veteran's psychiatric disability is rated at 50 percent, effective June 30, 2011. The Board finds that the evidence supports a higher rating as the Veteran experiences occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity due to symptoms such as flattened affect, panic attacks more than once a week, difficulty understanding complex commands, impaired short- and long-term memory, impaired judgment, disturbances of motivation and mood, and difficulty establishing effective work and social relationships.

The RO reduced the disability rating for prostate cancer from 100 percent to 40 percent, effective December 1, 2012. The Veteran's service-connected disabilities include a residual shrapnel wound to the scalp with scar and substernal chest and right upper thigh scars.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for depression and anxiety, as well as increased ratings for his lower back disability and radiculopathy of the right lower extremity were denied. The issue of TDIU was raised but not decided.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including scheduling a video conference hearing.

The Veteran's service-connected PTSD with depressive disorder has rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation, but his other disabilities do not contribute significantly to this conclusion.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to the AOJ for further development and adjudication, including consideration of service connection for alcoholism as secondary to PTSD. The TDIU issue will also be addressed.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, and post traumatic stress disorder, have rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation.

The Board dismissed the appeal for a higher rating for tinnitus and dismissed the pending appeal for an earlier effective date for service connection of tinnitus. The Veteran withdrew his claim for a higher rating for tinnitus at his hearing before the Board in December 2015.

The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disability is found to be caused at least in part by his hepatitis B, which he contracted as a result of negligent administration of a colonoscopy. As the evidence is in equipoise regarding whether this condition is caused by hepatitis B, and given the Veteran's service connection for hepatitis B, compensation for an acquired psychiatric disability secondary to hepatitis B is granted.

The Veteran's claim for an increased rating of his service-connected lumbar myositis was granted, but the claims for service connection of major depressive disorder and TDIU were denied. The decision is mixed as some issues were granted while others were not.