The Board has remanded the claims for major depression, left knee and right knee disabilities due to additional development being necessary. The TDIU claim is also remanded as it is inextricably intertwined with the other claims.
The deciding factor: Additional evidence was generated after the initial appeal decision that needs to be considered, including a March 2019 VA examination for major depression and treatment records from 2017-2018 for knee disabilities. A new VA examination is needed for the knees due to the significant changes in symptoms reported by the Veteran.
- Claimed conditions
- major depression, left-knee traumatic arthritis, right-knee traumatic arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 16, 2019
- Citation
- 19163765
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,677 · 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 19163765.
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 Board has remanded the case for additional development regarding the Veteran's service connection claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected PTSD, major depression, generalized anxiety disorder, insomnia and alcohol use disorder caused his sleep apnea.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for specially adapted housing or a special home adaptation grant due to lack of functional impairment. The Board has determined that a VA examination is needed to determine if any service-connected disability results in loss of use of both lower extremities, one lower extremity and one upper extremity, or residuals affecting balance and propulsion.
- Dismissed
The appeal for neck pain pinched nerve severe arthritis cervical spine is dismissed as a matter of law. Service connection and increased ratings are granted for major depression, mental disorder anxiety and PTSD, carpal tunnel syndrome (both wrists), and migraine including migraine variants.
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