The Board has determined that the Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, anxiety, and major depressive disorder, should be remanded due to insufficient evidence regarding the nature of his diagnoses and their relationship to his reported in-service stressor.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not provide a clear rationale for the diagnosis of major depressive disorder and failed to address whether it was related to service or post-military life stressors.
- Claimed conditions
- anxiety, major depressive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 27, 2018
- Citation
- 18160167
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 18160167.
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 Veteran's claim for specially-adapted housing assistance and a special home adaptation grant was denied because he does not meet the criteria for either benefit based on his service-connected disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and major depressive disorder, is being remanded due to the need for additional development regarding his alleged stressors.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder and major depressive disorder has been dismissed as the appellant requested withdrawal of the appeal.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinion regarding the nature and etiology of the Veteran's psychiatric condition, including PTSD, depression, and anxiety. The Veteran is seeking service connection for these conditions.
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