The Board has remanded the case for further development, including a VA examination to determine if the Veteran's depression/dysthymia is related to service or his service-connected heart disease.
The deciding factor: The Federal Circuit recently ruled that lay evidence can be considered in secondary service connection cases, and the Veteran's claim must now be reconsidered under this new interpretation of law.
- Claimed conditions
- depression/dysthymia
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 23, 2010
- Citation
- 1023434
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 1023434.
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 Veteran's appeal to reopen service connection for depression/dysthymia was granted.,The Veteran's appeals to reopen service connection for a nervous disorder, chronic bilateral dislocation of the sternoclavicular joints, lumbosacral strain, right foot pes planus, and left foot pes planus were all denied.
- Denied
The Board found that depression/dysthymia was not incurred in or aggravated by service and denied the claim. The PTSD issue is addressed separately.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for compliance with VCAA requirements and to obtain an independent medical examination regarding the veteran's fibromyalgia.
- 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.
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