The Board has determined that the VA examination provided was inadequate and requires a new one to determine if the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disability, including alcohol use disorder and depressive disorder due to chronic pain, is related to his service-connected conditions.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner failed to provide an opinion on whether the Veteran’s acquired psychiatric disabilities are secondary to his service-connected conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- alcohol use disorder, depressive disorder
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 2, 2019
- Citation
- 19100010
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,614 · Granted: 35% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 19100010.
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 Veteran's vascular headaches are granted effective August 22, 2011. A TDIU is granted effective February 11, 2015. SMC based on housebound criteria is denied prior to July 14, 2020.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood, along with alcohol use disorder, has been granted a 100% evaluation effective from April 8, 2021. The disability causes total occupational and social impairment.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected PTSD, major depression, generalized anxiety disorder, insomnia and alcohol use disorder caused his sleep apnea.
- Granted
The Board has restored the Veteran's 100% rating for depressive disorder, effective August 1, 2020, as the reduction was improper and did not comply with applicable regulations.
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