Depression Board decisions

The veteran was granted a 100 percent rating for his anxiety disorder with depression effective December 18, 1987. The decision also noted that the veteran had been totally disabled and unemployable since filing his claim in December 1987.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for hypertension, psychiatric disorders, and residuals of a head injury as there was no evidence linking these conditions to his period of active service.

The VA denied the veteran's application to reopen his claim for service connection for major depressive disorder, finding that the new evidence submitted was not material.

The veteran's major depression is related to his service-connected low back strain with disc disease. He was granted a rating of 40 percent for his low back disability since December 26, 1991.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for major depression, finding that it was not incurred in or aggravated by his military service.

The veteran's major depressive disorder is related to service, and the claim for service connection is granted. The issue of an earlier effective date for the increased rating for bronchial asthma will be addressed in a separate remand.

The Board has remanded the case for further development and adjudication, including addressing an earlier effective date for service connection of major depressive episode with psychotic features.

The Board found that the veteran did not engage in combat with the enemy and there is no credible supporting evidence of a stressor related to service. The veteran's current psychiatric conditions are not linked to any verified in-service stressors, leading to denial of both PTSD and chronic depression claims.

The veteran's generalized anxiety disorder is rated at 50 percent disabling. The Board found that the veteran's service-connected disabilities do not preclude him from securing or following substantial gainful employment, thus denying his claim for a total rating based on individual unemployability.

The Board found that the earliest date on which it was factually ascertainable that the veteran's PTSD with associated major depression had become 100 percent disabling was February 9, 2000. Therefore, the effective date for the grant of a 100 percent rating is set to this date.

The veteran's psychoneurosis, reactive depression, is rated at the highest possible disability evaluation of 100 percent due to total occupational and social impairment.

The Board found that the veteran's vocational rehabilitation benefits were properly discontinued due to his failure to maintain satisfactory conduct and cooperation in developing and implementing a program of rehabilitation services.

The veteran's PTSD with major depression has rendered him unable to obtain or maintain employment, warranting a 100 percent evaluation. Headaches do not meet the criteria for an initial compensable evaluation.

The Board found that the veteran's hypertension and major depression with agoraphobia were not incurred in or aggravated by service, nor are they etiologically related to service.

The Board found that the veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including major depression, was not incurred in or aggravated by active service and thus denied his claim.

The Board found no evidence of a current psychiatric disability related to service and denied the veteran's claim for service connection.

The veteran's psychiatric symptoms, including anxiety, nervousness, and fatigue, have been attributed to known diagnoses of bipolar disorder and major depression. There is no evidence that these conditions are related to service or undiagnosed illness.

The Board has granted service connection for hypertension, but denied the other claims due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to active duty.

The Board of Veterans' Appeals has granted a higher initial rating of 30 percent for the veteran's major depressive disorder and pain disorder as secondary to his service-connected vasectomy residuals, effective from the date of the decision.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been submitted to reopen the veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for PTSD, which was previously denied in 1992. The evidence now supports a diagnosis of PTSD related to military service.