The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric condition, to include as secondary to his service-connected bilateral knee disabilities, is being remanded due to the need for additional development and clarification of opinions provided by the VA examiner.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not provide a clear opinion on whether any diagnosed psychiatric condition was related to active duty service or caused/aggravated by service-connected bilateral knee disabilities. The case needs further examination with a different examiner.
- Claimed conditions
- schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, psychosis, anxiety disorder
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 13, 2016
- Citation
- 1646650
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 1646650.
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorders, including bipolar disorder and PTSD. The Veteran will be asked to provide additional medical records and undergo a VA examination.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension and increased rating for anxiety disorder have been denied. The Board found that there is no evidence of a current disability meeting the criteria for hypertension, and the Veteran's anxiety disorder does not meet the criteria for a higher rating.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining in-service psychiatric treatment records and scheduling a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of any acquired psychiatric disorder.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's tinnitus was granted service connection. The Board found the VA audiological examination inadequate for adjudicative purposes and remanded for an adequate VA audiological examination to determine if the Veteran has bilateral hearing loss. Service connection for PTSD, anxiety disorder, and depression is also remanded as there are insufficient competent medical evidence on file.
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