The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder and remanded both issues due to insufficient evidence. The Veteran is also being asked to provide updated treatment records, undergo a VA examination regarding his psychiatric condition, and another VA examination regarding his lumbar strain.
The deciding factor: The decision was not clear on whether the Veteran's current diagnosis of an acquired psychiatric disorder is related to service or if it is aggravated by his service-connected lumbar strain. The Board also needs updated evidence for both issues due to a lack of recent treatment records and examinations.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired psychiatric disorder, Lumbar strain
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 13, 2018
- Citation
- 18149688
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 18149688.
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.
- Granted
The Board has granted effective dates of July 10, 2024 for service connection for PTSD, lumbar strain, and left lower extremity radiculopathy.
- 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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