The Board has ordered the VA to obtain and review additional service records, including those from the Veteran's Army Reserve and National Guard service. They are also asked to determine if any of these periods were active duty, ACDUTRA, or INACDUTRA. The VA is instructed to provide an addendum opinion on whether the Veteran’s psychiatric disorder clearly and unmistakably pre-existed his military service.
The deciding factor: The Board found that further efforts should be made to comply with previous remand directives regarding obtaining service records and verifying periods of service.
- Claimed conditions
- Low back disability, Acquired psychiatric disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 26, 2018
- Citation
- 18114183
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 18114183.
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 denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a low back disability and an increased rating for his acquired psychiatric disorder. The Board found that there was no evidence linking the current disabilities to military service.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected low back disability alone does not prevent him from securing and following a substantially gainful occupation.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for a determination on whether injuries sustained in a November 2001 incident were in the line of duty. The claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder is also remanded due to its interdependence with the line of duty issue.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a duty to assist error in failing to obtain private treatment records from the Veteran's treating clinician.
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