The Board has determined that more contemporaneous examinations are needed to fully and fairly evaluate the Veteran's service-connected right ankle sprain and right foot disability, as well as determine whether he suffers from an acquired psychiatric disorder. The Veteran is also directed to provide any outstanding treatment records pertinent to his claims on appeal.
The deciding factor: The Board finds that more contemporaneous examinations are needed due to the significant time gap between the last VA examination and the current claim status of the Veteran's disabilities, as well as the lack of a clear opinion regarding the acquired psychiatric disorder diagnosis based on service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- Right ankle sprain, Postoperative residuals, right foot injury (right foot disability), Acquired psychiatric disorder
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 23, 2019
- Citation
- 19165625
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 19165625.
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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, finding a causal relationship between the condition and an in-service incident of military sexual trauma (MST).
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the issue of entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of May 29, 2019 for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder but denied earlier effective dates and increased ratings for other conditions.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, a right knee disorder, and a lumbar spine disorder.
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