The Veteran's service-connected depression is currently rated as 50 percent disabling prior to September 30, 2015, and 70 percent thereafter. The VA examiner found that the Veteran experienced occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity due to symptoms such as depressed mood, mild memory loss, disturbances of motivation and mood, difficulty in establishing and maintaining relationships, and difficulty adapting to stressful circumstances.,The Veteran's service-connected residuals of a right knee injury are currently rated as 30 percent disabling from September 1, 2017 (post total right knee replacement). The VA examiner found that the Veteran experienced pain on both active and passive motion, in weight-bearing and nonweight-bearing, with the range of the opposite undamaged joint. However, the examination did not include all required testing as per Correia v. McDonald.
The deciding factor: The current ratings for depression and right knee injury are based on the severity of symptoms reported by the Veteran during his VA examinations.
- Claimed conditions
- depression, right knee injury
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 11, 2018
- Citation
- 1821602
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 1821602.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining in-service psychiatric treatment records and scheduling a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of any acquired psychiatric disorder.
- Denied
The Veteran's depression was rated at 50 percent prior to July 1, 2016. The Board found that the evidence did not support a higher rating due to occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity. For TDIU, the Veteran had multiple service-connected disabilities but his education and work experience were sufficient for sedentary or light labor employment.
- Granted
The Veteran's depression was rated at 50 percent prior to September 27, 2017. From September 27, 2017, the rating for depression increased to 70 percent.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals were dismissed due to the death of the appellant. The issues related to service connection for various conditions and disability ratings.
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