The Board has remanded the claim of service connection for depression, considering it as secondary to service-connected disabilities. An additional VA examination is required to determine if the depression is related to an in-service injury or disease and whether it is aggravated by a service-connected disability.
The deciding factor: An additional VA examination is needed to assess the relationship between the Veteran's current psychiatric diagnosis and his service-connected conditions, including left testicle removal and left inguinal hernia repair with scar.
- Claimed conditions
- depression, mood disorder
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 3, 2018
- Citation
- 18140617
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 18140617.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder to ensure a proper examination and etiology opinion are provided.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including back pain, knee and wrist joint pains, neck pain, anxiety, depression, as further development is needed to properly adjudicate these claims.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for generalized anxiety disorder and denied service connection for a lower back disorder. The claims for depression, substance abuse disorder, and a compensable initial rating for bilateral hearing loss were dismissed.
- Partly granted
The appeal for service connection for depression was dismissed as the claim was fully resolved by a subsequent rating decision. The appeal for service connection for anxiety was denied due to insufficient evidence of a current disability.
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