The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including depression with alcoholism and PTSD (secondary to MST), is remanded due to new evidence received since the March 1997 rating decision.
The deciding factor: New evidence includes VA treatment records, lay statements, and the Veteran’s testimony at a Board videoconference raises a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including depression with alcoholism.
- Claimed conditions
- depression with alcoholism, PTSD (secondary to MST)
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 6, 2019
- Citation
- 19134960
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 19134960.
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 claims of service connection for depression with alcoholism and prostate cancer as due to in-service sexually transmitted disease. A new VA examination is required to provide a comprehensive opinion on the relationship between the Veteran's current conditions and his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's generalized anxiety disorder is rated at 70 percent for the period prior to April 5, 2010. The Board has granted a higher rating of 70 percent for PTSD secondary to military sexual trauma (MST) effective from April 5, 2010.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to the need for additional development, including obtaining SSA records and providing proper notice regarding secondary service connection.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD was reopened due to the submission of new and material evidence. The appeal is granted as his PTSD is now considered service-connected.
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