The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding whether the Veteran's depressive disorder is related to his service-connected asthma.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not provide a rationale for their opinion and failed to address whether the Veteran's service-connected asthma could have caused or aggravated his depressive disorder.
- Claimed conditions
- depressive disorder, not otherwise specified
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- October 5, 2017
- Citation
- 1744349
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 1744349.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
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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