The Veteran seeks service connection for a psychiatric disability other than PTSD, to include depressive disorder. The VA examiner could not determine without resorting to speculation whether the Veteran's current mood is connected to his military service. The RO has been instructed to arrange for a VA examination by a psychiatrist or psychologist and obtain all outstanding VA medical records.
The deciding factor: The opinion provided by the VA examiner was inadequate due to its speculative nature, thus requiring further evidence to determine if the Veteran's current psychiatric disability is related to his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- depressive disorder, not otherwise specified
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 1, 2012
- Citation
- 1219325
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 1219325.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's appeal for a rating greater than 30 percent for her psychiatric disability prior to March 5, 2019.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient examination regarding the relationship between the Veteran's service-connected anxiety disorder and depressive disorder, not otherwise specified, and his obstructive sleep apnea. The examiner is required to address whether obesity, which may be an intermediary factor, was a substantial factor in causing or aggravating the Veteran's OSA.
- Granted
The Veteran's sleep apnea is found to be caused by his service-connected PTSD, with obesity being an intermediate step in the multi-causal chain. As a result, the Board grants service connection for sleep apnea on a secondary basis.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected depressive disorder is rated as 70 percent disabling throughout the period on appeal. The Board has granted a disability rating of 100 percent for total occupational and social impairment caused by the Veteran's depressive disorder.
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