The Veteran's appeal is remanded for further development, including obtaining additional VA and private treatment records, scheduling a new VA examination to assess the severity of his depressive disorder, and scheduling an appropriate VA examination in conjunction with his TDIU claim.
The deciding factor: The claims are being remanded due to the need for additional evidence and examinations to determine the current severity of the Veteran's conditions and whether he is unemployable based on his service-connected disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 8, 2019
- Citation
- 19117084
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,451 · Granted: 22% (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 19117084.
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 Board denied service connection for persistent depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and bilateral hearing loss as the evidence of record did not support a finding that these conditions were related to the Veteran's active service.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for generalized anxiety disorder, persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia), pain left great toe, and sleep apnea but denied increased ratings for the veteran's shoulder strain, thumb strain, wrist ganglion cyst, wrist scar, and painful scar.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issues of entitlement to increased ratings for major depressive disorder, persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia), and unspecified anxiety disorder; gouty ankle and knees; and a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia) based on a private medical opinion and the Veteran's reported experiences during service.
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