The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, including PTSD. However, a new VA examination is needed to determine if the Veteran's current mental health disorders are related to his military service.
The deciding factor: A new VA examination is required to assess the etiology of the Veteran's current mental health conditions and their relationship to his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired psychiatric disability (including PTSD)
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 7, 2018
- Citation
- 18156169
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 18156169.
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.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, to include PTSD, effective from March 5, 2020. The decision finds that it is approximately as likely as not related to his combat experience in active duty.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a pre-decisional duty-to-assist error and for an adequate medical opinion regarding the nature and etiology of any acquired psychiatric disability, including PTSD. The Veteran's alcohol use disorder is also being evaluated.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, including PTSD, and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) due to insufficient information regarding in-service stressors and missing service treatment records. The Veteran is required to undergo VA examinations to determine the nature and etiology of his claimed conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the cases for further development, including scheduling new VA examinations at Ann Arbor VAMC due to facility restrictions.
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