The Board has reopened the appellant's claim regarding whether his character of discharge is a bar to VA benefits due to new and material evidence. The case is now remanded for further examination and opinion on whether the appellant was insane at the time he committed offenses leading to his discharge.
The deciding factor: New medical evidence suggests that the appellant may have had mental health issues during service, which could potentially affect the determination of his character of discharge.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic paranoid schizophrenia
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 11, 2019
- Citation
- 19144836
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,071 · 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 19144836.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's chronic paranoid schizophrenia is manifested by symptoms associated with a 100 percent rating such as persistent delusions and suicidal ideation, resulting in total social and occupational impairment. The maximum 100 percent rating is granted for the period after September 25, 2015.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for chronic paranoid schizophrenia was denied in October 1981. The Board found that the effective date of the award cannot be prior to July 14, 2021.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected chronic paranoid schizophrenia is granted. The claim for a sleep disorder is denied as there is no current diagnosis of a free-standing sleep disorder.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to lack of substantial compliance with previous directives and the need for updated VA medical records. A new examination is required to determine if the Veteran's chronic paranoid schizophrenia manifested during service or within one year after discharge.
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