The appeal is remanded for additional development, including a VA examination to assess the Veteran's service-connected disabilities and obtain updated treatment records.
The deciding factor: Further development is needed to determine the current severity of the Veteran's service-connected disabilities and to ensure compliance with VA's duty to assist.
- Claimed conditions
- dysthymic disorder, recurrent enterocolitis, internal hemorrhoids, bilateral knee disabilities
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 3, 2009
- Citation
- 0907695
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board granted the Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to his service-connected bilateral foot and knee disabilities.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected dysthymic disorder, anxiety disorder, borderline intellectual functioning, and dyslexia have prevented him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for a right shoulder disability, bilateral knee disabilities, and low back disability due to insufficient evidence.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an increased rating of 70 percent for dysthymic disorder and a total rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disability, effective July 31, 2008.
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