The Board is remanding the claims of service connection for alcohol abuse and mood disorder due to insufficient medical opinions and missing VA treatment records.
The deciding factor: The opinion provided by the August 2012 VA examiner did not address whether the Veteran's mental health condition caused his alcohol abuse, which is a critical factor in determining service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- alcohol abuse, mood disorder
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 24, 2018
- Citation
- 18105287
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 18105287.
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.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for unspecified depressive disorder with anxious distress and alcohol abuse, finding that there is no evidence of a current disability or a link to active service.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected mood disorder is rated at 70 percent, and the Board denied a higher rating. The Veteran also sought TDIU based on his mood disorder and anxiety, which was granted.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for higher ratings for asthma and a mood disorder, as well as TDIU benefits, have been dismissed due to the Veteran's passing during the appeal process.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has found a pre-decisional duty to assist error and remands the case for further development, including scheduling a VA examination.
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