The Board has vacated the previous decisions and remanded the case for further development, including obtaining a VA medical opinion on service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder.
The deciding factor: The decision was based on an incomplete record and new evidence received after the initial denial of service connection. The Veteran's psychiatric disorder may be related to his military service or secondary to his service-connected tinnitus and hemorrhoids disabilities, but further evaluation is needed.
- Claimed conditions
- Depressive Disorder, Anxiety
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 18, 2019
- Citation
- 19147703
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for a heart disability, to include coronary artery disease (CAD), as secondary to the Veteran's anxiety and assigned a 70 percent rating from April 29, 2025. The Board also granted an initial 30 percent rating prior to that date.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an initial increased rating of 50 percent for the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disability from March 8, 2010, to May 19, 2014, and denied a higher rating thereafter.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, while remanding claims for depression, anxiety, sleep disorder, right knee strain, left knee strain, and lumbar spine strain.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD, depression, anxiety, agitation, and sleep issues, due to in-service military sexual trauma (MST).
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