The Veteran's depressive disorder is granted a 100% rating, effective from the date of this decision. The lumbar spine disability remains at a 40% rating.
The deciding factor: The evidence showed that the Veteran’s depressive disorder resulted in total occupational and social impairment, meeting the criteria for a 100% rating under Diagnostic Code 9434.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Disc Disease of the Lumbar Spine, Depressive Disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- November 18, 2020
- Citation
- 20073798
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an initial increased rating of 50 percent for the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disability from March 8, 2010, to May 19, 2014, and denied a higher rating thereafter.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder of generalized anxiety disorder and depressive disorder, as secondary to the service-connected left ankle disability. Service connection was also granted for pseudofolliculitis barbae, and a 20 percent rating was assigned for left ankle achilles tendonitis from October 23, 2023.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, to include GAD and depressive disorder, as well as a cervical spine disability, right wrist pain, and left wrist pain. However, the claims for lumbar spine pain were denied.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim for an initial rating in excess of 30 percent for posttraumatic stress disorder due to a lack of new and relevant evidence, and remanded the claim for an increased rating for degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine for further development.
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