The Board has determined that there is new and material evidence to reopen the claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder. However, due to inadequate medical opinions in a prior remand, the case must be returned for further development.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not consider all of the Veteran's currently-diagnosed psychiatric disorders as requested in the June 2018 Board remand directives and used an incorrect 'clear and unmistakable' standard.
- Claimed conditions
- bipolar disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, unspecified depressive disorder, unspecified personality disorder
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- May 31, 2019
- Citation
- 19141852
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,429 · Granted: 29% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 19141852.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
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 case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorders, including bipolar disorder and PTSD. The Veteran will be asked to provide additional medical records and undergo a VA examination.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected PTSD, major depression, generalized anxiety disorder, insomnia and alcohol use disorder caused his sleep apnea.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for back pain and neck pain, finding no current disability. The claim for Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is remanded due to inadequate consideration of all potential exposures.,The claim for an acquired psychiatric disability (PTSD) is also remanded due to a lack of development of the Veteran's therapist's records.
- Granted
The Veteran's anxiety and depressive disorders were rated at a 70 percent disability rating effective May 6, 2015.,Effective May 6, 2015, the Veteran was granted an earlier effective date for DEA benefits.
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