The Board has found sufficient evidence to corroborate the Veteran's assertions of sexual assault in service. However, there is no current opinion regarding the relationship between this experience and her current mental health disabilities. A VA examination is necessary on remand.
The deciding factor: A VA examination is needed to determine if any acquired psychiatric disorder had its onset during active service or is otherwise related to active service, including the in-service sexual assault.
- Claimed conditions
- Major Depressive Disorder, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 22, 2019
- Citation
- 19104838
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,500 · Granted: 29% (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 19104838.
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
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