The Board remands the case for a VA opinion to determine whether any current psychiatric disorder is etiologically related to in-service head trauma.
The deciding factor: The record reflects both a currently diagnosed psychiatric disorder and an established service-connected disability of a residual of head trauma, and the February 2003 VA examination report indicates that the veteran's psychiatric disorder may be associated with in-service head trauma.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired psychiatric disorder, to include depressive disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 8, 2009
- Citation
- 0900878
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,421 · Granted: 29% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0900878.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected traumatic brain injury, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- Granted
The Veteran's major depressive disorder is found to be caused by his service-connected low back and radiculopathy disabilities, which prevent him from doing enjoyable activities and daily living tasks.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper extremities, and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral lower extremities, finding that there was no evidence linking these conditions to his active service or any related exposure.
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