The Veteran's claim for hypertension and an acquired psychiatric disorder to include unspecified depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, paranoid schizophrenia and insomnia has been reopened. The right ankle disability claim is being remanded.,Hypertension and the acquired psychiatric disorder claims are both reopened due to new evidence received since their last final denial. However, service connection cannot be established for these conditions as there is no evidence of a current disability.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's hearing loss and tinnitus were not found to meet VA criteria for hearing loss disability at any point during service or post-service, and the June 2014 VA examination report was considered more probative than the Veteran’s lay statements regarding his tinnitus onset.
- Claimed conditions
- Hypertension, Acquired Psychiatric Disorder to include unspecified depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, paranoid schizophrenia and insomnia, Right Ankle Degenerative Joint Disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- August 19, 2019
- Citation
- 19163863
Veterans Law Judge
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 19163863.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim of service connection for hypertension, finding that it did not manifest during service and is not causally related to the Veteran's exposure to herbicides or service.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current condition and active duty service or herbicide exposure.
- Denied
The Board has denied service connection for hypertension and has remanded the issue of an increased rating for skin condition.
- Granted
The Board has restored the Veteran's 10% rating for hypertension effective December 1, 2025 and denied a rating in excess of 10%. The reduction from 10% to noncompensable was not proper.
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