The Board has remanded the claims of entitlement to an increase rating in excess of 70 percent for major depression, recurrent; entitlement to TDIU; and entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death due to incomplete development. The issues are intertwined and require further development.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there may be relevant mental health treatment records from Holston Valley Medical Center during the period on appeal, but VA has not obtained these records as requested. Additionally, a medical opinion is needed regarding whether the Veteran's service-connected major depression was the principal or contributory cause of death.
- Claimed conditions
- major depression, recurrent
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 1, 2019
- Citation
- 19107837
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,421 · 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 19107837.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran has withdrawn his appeal for an initial disability rating in excess of 50 percent for major depression, recurrent, with history of PTSD. The appeal is dismissed.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased PTSD and major depression, recurrent; sub-threshold PTSD ratings are being remanded due to the addition of new evidence. The TDIU claim is also being remanded as it is inextricably intertwined with the PTSD rating claim.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection due to missing VA treatment records, as well as a need for further examination of his lumbar spine disability. The Veteran's claim for reopening a previously denied left knee disability is also remanded.
- Granted
The Veteran is entitled to a higher initial evaluation of 100 percent for his service-connected PTSD for the portion of the appeal period prior to January 14, 2009.
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