The Board has reopened the claim of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, but has remanded it due to insufficient evidence regarding the claimed stressor. The right ankle disorder issue is also remanded.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's claim for PTSD was previously denied because there was no verified in-service stressor. The new evidence includes a report of MST, which raises a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim. However, the right ankle disorder claim requires further development to verify an in-service injury.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired psychiatric disorder (PTSD), Right ankle disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 9, 2018
- Citation
- 18141129
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 18141129.
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 service connection for the Veteran's right ankle disorder, finding that it was not shown to be related to his active duty service and did not meet the criteria for secondary service connection due to his left ankle disability.
- Denied
The Board finds the evidence does not support a finding that the Veteran has an acquired psychiatric disorder related to service, particularly given inconsistencies in his statements and lack of combat service.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a right ankle disorder and a lung disorder, finding that the conditions are related to active-duty service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that new and relevant evidence has been received to warrant readjudicating the appellant's claim of service connection for the Veteran's cause of death. The case is remanded for further development, including obtaining medical opinions regarding the etiology of the Veteran's death.
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