The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the onset and relationship of the Veteran's psychiatric disorders, including major depressive disorder, mood disorder, and bipolar disorder, with service. The VA must provide an addendum opinion addressing whether these conditions are related to PTSD or aggravated by it.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the existing medical evidence is insufficient to determine if the Veteran’s other psychiatric disorders had their onset in service or were caused or aggravated by his service-connected PTSD.
- Claimed conditions
- major depressive disorder, mood disorder, bipolar disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 17, 2019
- Citation
- 19155485
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 19155485.
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 claim for an earlier effective date for service connection for major depressive disorder is dismissed as moot because the earliest effective date was granted during the pendency of this appeal.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for multiple conditions, including an acquired psychiatric disorder, sleep apnea, hypertension, and various musculoskeletal and skin disabilities.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for right and left hip degenerative arthritis as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected right ankle and knee conditions, and major depressive disorder as secondary to his service-connected knee and ankle conditions. The Board also granted a 10 percent rating for allergic rhinitis.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of December 12, 2023, for a 50 percent evaluation of bipolar disorder and remanded the other issues for further development.
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