The Veteran's claim for an initial rating in excess of 50 percent for his acquired psychiatric disorder, including depressive disorder, and entitlement to a total disability based on individual unemployability (TDIU) are remanded due to the need to consider both former and current rating criteria.
The deciding factor: The effective date cannot be earlier than October 17, 1996 as there is no evidence of a claim prior to that date. The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder must be rated under both former and current diagnostic criteria for mental disorders.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired psychiatric disorder (including depressive disorder)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 30, 2019
- Citation
- 19133560
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 880 · Granted: 26% (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 19133560.
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 Board has remanded the cases for further development and consideration due to incomplete information from VA examiners.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder and bilateral sensorineural hearing loss is remanded due to the need for further development, including obtaining missing military personnel records and SSA records. The Veteran must also be afforded a new VA examination.
- Denied
The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, specifically depressive disorder, has not been manifested by symptoms that would warrant a higher initial disability rating of more than 50 percent.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's current herpes genitalis and acquired psychiatric disorder did not have their onset during service or are otherwise related to active service. The claim for service connection was denied.
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