The Veteran's claim for service connection of an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, has been reopened. His chronic low back pain with DDD and radiculopathy have also been remanded for further review.
The deciding factor: New evidence received since the last final rating decision relates to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claim of entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, raising a reasonable possibility of substantiating that claim.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired psychiatric disorder (to include PTSD), Chronic low back pain with degenerative disc disease, Radiculopathy, right lower extremity, Radiculopathy, left lower extremity
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 16, 2019
- Citation
- 19103832
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,548 · Granted: 31% (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 19103832.
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 PTSD is rated at 50 percent, and the appeal for an increased rating is denied. The Veteran's degenerative osteoarthritis and degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, radiculopathy, right lower extremity, diabetic nephropathy chronic kidney disease, right great toe bunion and gout, and TDIU are all granted.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD; left shoulder disability; and right shoulder disability. The Veteran did not meet the current disability requirement or provide sufficient evidence to support a link between his military service and these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the Veteran meets the requirement of having incurred a serious injury on or after September 11, 2001, for PCAFC eligibility. The appeal is remanded to allow further processing and development of the claim.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's service connected thoracolumbar spine degenerative disc disease, cervical spine degenerative disc disease, radiculopathy of the right upper and lower extremities, and radiculopathy of the left upper and lower extremities are all remanded for further development.
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