Depression Board decisions

The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate examination and need for further medical opinion regarding service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, including depression and anxiety.

The Board has remanded the case for further development due to lack of response from the Veteran and need for clarification on in-service incidents related to his acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD.

The Veteran's intestinal disability and unspecified depressive disorder are service-connected.,Further development is needed for the claims of chronic fatigue and chronic joint pain.

The Veteran's claim for service connection of an acquired psychiatric disorder, including anxiety and depression, has been denied. The case is also remanded for a VA examination to assess the severity of his bilateral hearing loss.

The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings and service connection were denied. The Board also found that the Veteran had not raised any other issues, nor have any other issues been reasonably raised by the record.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including PTSD, depression, anxiety disorders, asthma, bronchitis, COPD, tinnitus, GERD/IBS, and hearing loss, have rendered him unable to secure or maintain substantially gainful employment for the period on appeal. The Board has granted TDIU based on this finding.

The Veteran's major depressive disorder with alcohol abuse disorder is granted a 50 percent rating, effective from the date of an October 2020 VA examination. Other issues remain in controversy.

The Board has reopened the claim of service connection for sleep apnea due to new and material evidence. The Veteran's right knee disability and skin condition are denied as there is no current diagnosis or history of these conditions.,Service connection for a thoracolumbar spine disability, depression, joint disease of the left knee, and obstructive lung disease remains denied.

The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including bipolar disorder and depression, is granted as service-connected.,The Veteran's migraine headaches are rated at 50% effective August 21, 2021.

The Veteran's appeal for a rating greater than 70 percent for his persistent depressive disorder with unspecified anxiety disorder was denied. The Board found that the severity, frequency, and duration of his symptoms did not meet the criteria for a higher rating.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for epilepsy and traumatic brain injury have been withdrawn.,The Veteran's earlier effective date claims for major depressive disorder with generalized anxiety disorder and right knee patellofemoral syndrome have been denied.,The Veteran's TDIU claim has been remanded.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities have precluded him from obtaining or maintaining substantially gainful employment, and thus grants a TDIU rating.

The Board has decided to remand the claims for renal disease, psychiatric disability (including depression), and hypertension due to insufficient evidence regarding their service connection. The Veteran's death prevented a VA examination from being conducted.

The Veteran's appeal for increased ratings for neurocognitive disorder (memory loss) with depressive disorder, due to traumatic brain injury (TBI) with headaches is being remanded. The AOJ should obtain any outstanding VA treatment records and readjudicate the claims based on this new evidence.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for the issues of an earlier effective date for PTSD service connection, establishing basic eligibility to DEA benefits, and TDIU prior to November 3, 2016.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to a need for additional medical opinions and further development of evidence. The Veteran's claim for service connection for chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is secondary to her service-connected conditions, including headaches and major depressive disorder with anxious distress.

The Veteran's service-connected depression disorder and obstructive sleep apnea are considered to be the cause of his insomnia, so he cannot get separate compensation for insomnia.

The Veteran's PTSD and major depressive disorder with mood congruent psychotic features resulted in total occupational and social impairment prior to September 30, 2016. From September 30, 2016, the Veteran experienced severe psychiatric symptoms resulting in total occupational and social impairment warranting a 100% rating.

The Veteran's PTSD is rated at 70 percent for the period beginning December 1, 2017, through March 19, 2018. For the period beginning March 20, 2018, forward, he is granted a 100 percent rating for PTSD.

The Board has remanded several issues related to the Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including major depressive disorder, sleep apnea, left knee disability, seizures, TIA, heart disability, bilateral lower leg neurological disability, and shaky leg syndrome. The issues include determining the severity of these conditions, whether they are related to service or other disabilities, and if they are aggravated by other conditions.