The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for additional examinations and opinions regarding his service-connected lumbar spine disability, psychiatric disorder, radiculopathy of the lower extremities, and TDIU claim.
The deciding factor: The Board found that a new examination was necessary to address the etiology of the Veteran's psychiatric disorder and the severity of his lumbar spine disability. Additionally, the claims for increased ratings and effective dates are remanded as they are intertwined with the issues regarding service connection and TDIU.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired psychiatric disorder other than posttraumatic stress disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 12, 2017
- Citation
- 1745434
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 1745434.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeal for service connection of an acquired psychiatric disorder other than posttraumatic stress disorder before the Board could make a decision.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for an acquired psychiatric disorder other than posttraumatic stress disorder and headaches, to include secondary to service-connected tinnitus due to conflicting evidence of record. The Veteran's statements regarding his in-service stressors are found to lack credibility.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection were denied. The Board found no evidence of a current psychiatric disability related to active duty service, and the right knee scar was not considered disabling enough to warrant an increase in rating.
- 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.
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