The Veteran's claim for an increased disability rating for her service-connected generalized anxiety disorder with panic attacks and somatic symptom disorder is being remanded due to the addition of new evidence since the last decision in April 2017. The AOJ will review this new evidence, including VA mental health treatment notes, and readjudicate the claim.
The deciding factor: The additional evidence includes VA treatment records discussing the nature and severity of the Veteran's psychiatric disorders, which was not reviewed by the AOJ since the last decision in April 2017.
- Claimed conditions
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder with Panic Attacks, Somatic Symptom Disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 4, 2019
- Citation
- 19125418
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,374 · Granted: 19% (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 19125418.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased evaluations of his service-connected hypertension and somatic symptom disorder are denied. The Board has remanded the claims for cardiovascular, peripheral artery disease, and lung cancer with emphysema.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for generalized anxiety disorder with panic attacks was granted, effective April 4, 1985. The VA assigned a 50% rating from October 3, 2023, and denied TDIU.
- Granted
The Veteran's claims for service connection for somatic symptom disorder with PTSD and right shoulder strain were granted, but the effective dates are set to December 26, 2019, based on new evidence submitted after a previous final decision.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a duty-to-assist error and needs additional information from a VA examiner regarding the Veteran's service-connected psychiatric disabilities, including specific phobia of natural environment.
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