The Board has expanded the Veteran's claim to include all psychiatric disorders and has ordered a new VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of his acquired psychiatric disability, including PTSD.
The deciding factor: The previous examiner’s opinion was inadequate as it did not consider the totality of VAMC treatment records and the Veteran's lay statements regarding service-related stressors.
- Claimed conditions
- an unspecified mood disorder, cannabis use disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 19, 2019
- Citation
- 19130851
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for left hip iliopsoas tendonitis, right knee strain, and left knee strain as secondary to lumbosacral strain. Service connection was also granted for cannabis use disorder as secondary to mental health conditions of PTSD, major depressive disorder with alcohol use disorder, and TBI. However, the Board denied an initial disability rating in excess of 70 percent for PTSD and granted a separate disability rating of 40 percent for TBI.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeal for service connection for a psychiatric disability, including depression, alcohol use disorder, cocaine use disorder, and cannabis use disorder.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection of an acquired psychiatric disability, to include unspecified bipolar and related disorder with anxious distress, cannabis use disorder, and other hallucinogen use disorder, due to missing records and a need for additional evidence.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for an initial compensable rating for right eye diplopia and extraocular motility restriction, service connection for traumatic brain injury, and service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder to include PTSD. The claim for cannabis use disorder was remanded.
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.