The Veteran's petition to reopen his claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder is granted. The Board has determined that a remand is necessary due to the inadequacy of the August 2016 VA examination.
The deciding factor: The August 2016 VA examination did not accurately reflect the Veteran's current mental health status, as evidenced by his recent statements and VA treatment records indicating active depressive disorder.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired psychiatric disorder, Panic disorder, Depressive disorder NEC
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 11, 2019
- Citation
- 19102750
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 granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, finding a causal relationship between the condition and an in-service incident of military sexual trauma (MST).
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the issue of entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of May 29, 2019 for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder but denied earlier effective dates and increased ratings for other conditions.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, a right knee disorder, and a lumbar spine disorder.
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.