Citation Nr: 21009109 Decision Date: 02/19/21 Archive Date: 02/19/21 DOCKET NO. 15-23 916 DATE: February 19, 2021 ORDER Service connection for depressive disorder is granted. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran’s depressive disorder NOS is related to service and its symptoms are not distinct from service-connected posttraumatic stress disorder. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for a depressive disorder have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from September 1999 to September 2007. The Board thanks him for his service. He appeals for service connection for a psychiatric disorder other than PTSD, based on a claim filed in May 2013. The appeal had been characterized as one for entitlement to service connection for a psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD and depressive disorder. The issue was remanded by the Board in July 2018 and February 2020, with substantial compliance with the February 2020 Board remand. Service connection was thereafter granted for PTSD by the agency of original jurisdiction in August 2020, and the issue denied and carried forward to the Board on appeal in the October 2020 supplemental statement of the case is entitlement to service connection for a psychiatric disorder, to include depressive disorder, but other than PTSD. Establishing service connection generally requires medical or, in certain circumstances, lay evidence of: (1) a current disability; (2) an in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a nexus between the claimed in-service disease or injury and the present disability. See Davidson v. Shinseki, 581 F.3d 1313 (Fed.Cir.2009); Hickson v. West, 12 Vet. App. 247, 253 (1999); Caluza v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 498, 506 (1995), aff'd per curiam, 78 F.3d 604 (Fed.Cir.1996) (table). Based on the evidence, the Board concludes that service connection is warranted for depressive disorder. The preponderance of the evidence indicates that the only other psychiatric disorder clearly diagnosed during the course of the appeal is the depressive disorder NOS diagnosed at the time of a February 2014 VA examination. The evidence is at least in equipoise that depressive disorder NOS is related to service. There are medical opinions of record both for and against the claim. The February 2014 VA examiner diagnosed depressive disorder with symptoms of depressed mood, anxiety, suspiciousness and chronic sleep impairment. The Veteran reported in service stressors, but not in service symptoms, and he denied having been treated in or post-service. The Veteran had become a police officer shortly after service, went through a nasty divorce, and then resigned. He took another job as a patrol officer until he had a falling out with supervision, feeling like he was targeted. He took another position as a patrolman, then left for a better position as a corrections officer, and then another, the latter beginning in January 2014. The examiner found that the Veteran's depressive disorder was “most likely related to job and interpersonal stressors rather than fear of hostile military or terrorist activities” and it was her opinion that the Veteran “is possibly suffering from depression as a result of his employment history and marital conflicts.” The Board notes that the use of the term “possibly” is too speculative to afford the opinion significant probative weight. Stegman v. Derwinski, 3 Vet. App. 228, 230 (1992) (evidence favorable to the veteran's claim that does little more than suggest a possibility that his illnesses might have been caused by service is insufficient to establish service connection). However, the medical opinion in March 2020 by a VA psychologist found that the symptoms of depressed mood, anxiety, sleep impairment, and suspiciousness noted in the February 2014 VA examination report were related to the later-diagnosed PTSD. The March 2020 opinion provider noted that his PTSD diagnosis was considered “‘delayed expression’ with the recognition that some symptoms appear immediately (anxiety, sleep disturbances) . . . .” Thus, the March 2020 opinion provider clearly related the symptoms that supported the diagnosis of depressive disorder to service. Framed another way, there is no indication, either lay or medical, that there are symptoms of another psychiatric disorder that are distinct from the one for which service connection has been granted. Mittleider v. West, 11 Vet. App. 181, 182 (1998). Thus, the evidence as to whether the Veteran’s depressive disorder is related to service is at least in relative equipoise. Any reasonable doubt in this regard is resolved in the Veteran's favor. 38 U.S.C. § 5107; Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49, 55 (1991). Therefore, service connection for depressive disorder is granted. M. C. GRAHAM Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board C. Lawson The Board’s decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.