The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, dysthymic disorder, depression, anxiety, and panic disorder is remanded due to the inability to verify a claimed stressor. A VA examination is needed to determine if any current psychiatric diagnoses are related to service.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's claim cannot proceed without verification of a claimed stressor, which prevents an evaluation of whether his current psychiatric conditions are related to service.
- Claimed conditions
- post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), dysthymic disorder, depression, anxiety, panic disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 29, 2019
- Citation
- 19167204
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 19167204.
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 remands the claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder to ensure a proper examination and etiology opinion are provided.
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The appeal is remanded for further development and consideration of the Veteran's claims for service connection for various acquired psychiatric disorders.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for panic disorder, OSA, and hypertension as secondary to a service-connected condition. The claim for diabetes mellitus was denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including back pain, knee and wrist joint pains, neck pain, anxiety, depression, as further development is needed to properly adjudicate these claims.
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