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 assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 31, 2019
- Citation
- 19141852
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 19141852.
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 appeal is remanded to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors, including the failure to obtain relevant treatment records and provide adequate VA examinations.
- Granted
The Board granted a 70 percent rating for the Veteran's unspecified depressive disorder, finding that her symptoms more closely approximated those required for such a rating.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including left foot condition, right foot condition, cellulitis, right ear hearing loss, and right lower extremity radiculopathy. The appeal of the proposal to reduce a 40 percent evaluation for lumbosacral strain was dismissed.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for generalized anxiety disorder and denied service connection for a lower back disorder. The claims for depression, substance abuse disorder, and a compensable initial rating for bilateral hearing loss were dismissed.
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