The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include depressive disorder, anxiety disorder with claustrophobia, adjustment disorder, bipolar disorder, and mood disorder is remanded due to the need for a VA examination.
The deciding factor: The Board finds that the low threshold of the McLendon standard has been met, and that the Veteran should be afforded an initial VA examination.
- Claimed conditions
- depressive disorder, anxiety disorder with claustrophobia, adjustment disorder, bipolar disorder, mood disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 13, 2019
- Citation
- 19171365
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 19171365.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for major depressive disorder, secondary to tinnitus and dismissed the appeal regarding an initial compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss. The claim for adjustment disorder was remanded.
- Granted
The Board granted a disability rating of 50 percent for the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, characterized as depressive disorder, effective May 1, 2017.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of December 12, 2023, for a 50 percent evaluation of bipolar disorder and remanded the other issues for further development.
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