The Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected posttraumatic stress disorder with alcohol dependency is remanded as further development is required, including obtaining VA and private treatment records and scheduling the Veteran for a VA examination.
The deciding factor: Further development is needed, including securing medical records and conducting an employment impact assessment due to the age of the last VA examination and the Veteran's testimony.
- Claimed conditions
- Posttraumatic stress disorder, Alcohol dependency
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 20, 2019
- Citation
- 19164680
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,987 · Granted: 15% (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 19164680.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's request for reentrance into a VR&E program and retroactive induction for restoration of Chapter 33 (Post-9/11 GI Bill) educational assistance benefits, finding that his service-connected disabilities did not worsen to the extent that he was precluded from performing the work duties of the occupation for which he previously was found rehabilitated.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for major depressive disorder was denied, and her request for an increased rating for PTSD was also denied. The Board found that the Veteran's symptoms did not meet the criteria for a higher disability rating.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeal as to the proposed rating reduction of posttraumatic stress disorder because the May 20, 2021 rating decision did not effectuate a final and appealable action regarding this claim.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for an earlier effective date for posttraumatic stress disorder was dismissed due to the Veteran's death.
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