The Board has remanded several issues related to the Veteran's service connection claims, including sleep apnea, hepatitis C, erectile dysfunction, and an acquired psychiatric disorder. The VA is instructed to obtain relevant medical records, request SSA disability benefits information, provide a VCAA notice letter regarding secondary service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, attempt to corroborate in-service stressors, and obtain addendum opinions from VA clinicians.
The deciding factor: The Board has determined that the claims are remanded due to outstanding VA treatment records, unassociated SSA disability benefit records, incomplete information regarding the Veteran's prior employment or education, need for a secondary service connection notice letter, and need for additional medical opinions on hepatitis C and acquired psychiatric disorder.
- Claimed conditions
- sleep apnea, hepatitis C, erectile dysfunction, acquired psychiatric disorder (including unspecified schizophrenia, unspecified depressive disorder, and major depressive disorder)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 27, 2018
- Citation
- 18152604
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 18152604.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for diabetes mellitus type II with erectile dysfunction was denied as the evidence did not show that he had been diagnosed and manifested to at least a 10 percent disability rating on or prior to May 8, 2001.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has expanded the scope of the claim for major depression to encompass any mental health disability raised by the record and has remanded six issues for additional development.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for sleep apnea, finding that there was no evidence of a chronic disease manifesting within one year after service and concluding that the current disability is not related to his in-service deviated septum.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development regarding the Veteran's claim of service connection for sleep apnea. The Veteran will be provided with a VA examination to determine if his current sleep disorder is related to his military service.
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