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 an addendum retrospective insanity opinion from a mental health clinician.
The deciding factor: New and material evidence has been presented that raises a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim of whether the appellant was insane at the time he committed offenses leading to his discharge, which could affect the determination regarding his character of discharge.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic paranoid schizophrenia
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 11, 2019
- 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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's service-connected chronic paranoid schizophrenia has resulted in a disability rating of 100%, which exceeds the maximum annual pension rates, making the nonservice-connected pension claim moot.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for bipolar affective disorder was reopened due to the submission of new and material evidence. The Board found that his diagnosed bipolar affective disorder is at least as likely as not incurred during active service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including chronic paranoid schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. The case is remanded to determine if PTSD or other psychiatric disorders are related to service.
- Granted
The Board granted an effective date of January 20, 1995, for the award of service connection for paranoid schizophrenia.
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