Depression Board decisions

The Veteran's appeal has been withdrawn, and the case is dismissed.

The Board has remanded the case for obtaining VA treatment records and for a medical opinion regarding whether any psychiatric disorders, including PTSD, had their onset or were otherwise etiologically related to the Veteran's service. The appeal will be returned to the Board after these actions are completed.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim to reopen his service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and MDD. The evidence received since the final denial supports a diagnosis of PTSD related to fear of hostile military or terrorist activity during service. Service connection is also granted for diabetes mellitus as due to herbicide exposure.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are service-connected, as they are related to his in-service noise exposure. His major depression disorder is also service-connected, as it is secondary to his service-connected tinnitus.

The Veteran's current acquired psychiatric disabilities, including depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), are found to be related to his military service.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for a new examination to determine the current severity of his service-connected TBI and psychiatric disabilities, including major depressive disorder with PTSD. The case will be returned to the Board after the examination.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining deck logs and personnel files from the USS Boxer, verifying the Veteran's stressor events, and scheduling a VA psychiatric examination to determine the nature and etiology of any current acquired psychiatric disorders.

The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate VA examination reports and failure to comply with previous remand directives. The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder must be remanded for further development.

The Board found that the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of PTSD or an acquired psychiatric disorder other than PTSD, and thus denied both claims.

The Veteran is seeking service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD. The Board has determined that additional development is needed to determine if the Veteran meets the criteria for a current diagnosis of PTSD and whether any other acquired psychiatric disorders are related to active military service.

The Veteran's claim for a clothing allowance was denied as there is no documented provision of a manual wheelchair or other qualifying prosthetic or orthopedic appliance that tends to wear or tear his clothing, and the medications prescribed do not cause irreparable damage to his outergarments.

The Board denied an extraschedular rating for the Veteran's right ankle disability and found that he is not unemployable due to his service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's major depression has been rated at a 50 percent disability rating effective May 23, 2011.

The Veteran's service-connected PTSD is so severe that he cannot secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation, and the Board finds that TDIU on a schedular basis is warranted.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claims have been denied as his appeals do not involve service connection issues, but rather focus on rating determinations and effective dates. The specific issues are related to increased ratings for various conditions and effective date determinations.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, adjustment disorder, anxiety disorder, and depressive disorder is being remanded due to the need to verify his claimed stressors in Thailand and provide notice regarding establishing service connection for PTSD under the revised regulations.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disability, including PTSD due to military sexual trauma (MST), was incurred in service and grants service connection for this condition.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD is granted, and he also has a diagnosis of major depression. The issue of entitlement to service connection for psychiatric disability other than PTSD and hypertension are addressed in the REMAND.

The Veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected disability, and the Veteran did not meet the criteria for DIC under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1318.

The Veteran's major depressive disorder has been granted service connection and assigned an initial rating of 70 percent, effective December 11, 2007.