The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining VA records from his recent hospital admission and scheduling a VA examination to assess the severity of his service-connected major depressive disorder. The issues on appeal include rating his major depressive disorder, rating his Scheuermann's thoracic kyphosis, and determining if he qualifies for a total rating based on unemployability due to service-connected disorders.
The deciding factor: The Veteran has provided new evidence since the last decision that needs to be considered, including VA records from his recent hospital admission. Additionally, further development is needed to assess the current severity of his major depressive disorder and determine if he qualifies for a total rating based on unemployability due to service-connected disorders.
- Claimed conditions
- major depressive disorder, Scheuermann's thoracic kyphosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 23, 2018
- Citation
- 1804227
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 1804227.
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 claim for an earlier effective date for service connection for major depressive disorder is dismissed as moot because the earliest effective date was granted during the pendency of this appeal.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for multiple conditions, including an acquired psychiatric disorder, sleep apnea, hypertension, and various musculoskeletal and skin disabilities.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for right and left hip degenerative arthritis as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected right ankle and knee conditions, and major depressive disorder as secondary to his service-connected knee and ankle conditions. The Board also granted a 10 percent rating for allergic rhinitis.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for major depressive disorder, finding it to be etiologically related to the Veteran's service.
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