The Board has determined that further development is required prior to adjudicating the appellant's claim of entitlement to service connection for a psychiatric disorder. This includes obtaining VA and private treatment records, scheduling the Veteran for a VA psychiatric examination, and reviewing all submitted evidence.
The deciding factor: Further development is needed as there are gaps in the record regarding the onset date and etiology of the claimed psychiatric disorders, including whether they are related to service or other causes. The appellant has not been provided with an adequate opportunity to present his claims for service connection due to these missing records and information.
- Claimed conditions
- Depressive disorder with psychotic features
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 1, 2017
- Citation
- 1736766
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 1736766.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection for a psychiatric disability, to include PTSD, and a right knee disability have been remanded due to the need for additional development. The Veteran is presumed credible regarding his statements about the onset and persistence of his symptoms. VA treatment records show a diagnosis of knee arthralgia. An examination is needed to clarify the diagnoses and their etiology.
- Granted
The Board has granted a TDIU based on the Veteran's service-connected disabilities, and is remanding the PTSD claim for further development.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
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