The Board has ordered additional development to determine the appellant's periods of active duty and active duty for training, as well as whether he had a current acquired psychiatric disability during his period of service. The examiner is asked to provide an opinion on whether any diagnosed personality disorder or alcohol use disorder was subject to a superimposed disease or injury that resulted in a current acquired psychiatric disability.
The deciding factor: The Board ordered additional development due to incomplete information regarding the appellant's periods of active duty and active duty for training, which could affect the determination of service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- Personality Disorder, Alcohol Use Disorder
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 1, 2019
- Citation
- 19175788
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,810 · Granted: 23% (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 19175788.
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 Veteran's PTSD is related to fear of hostile military or terrorist activity in Vietnam, and his alcohol use disorder is due to his PTSD. Service connection for PTSD with alcohol use disorder has been granted.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for PTSD with alcohol use disorder was denied, and he was granted a TDIU. The Board found that the symptoms did not meet criteria for a 100% disability rating.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical evidence regarding the Veteran's PTSD and bipolar disorder, as well as a failure to provide an adequate VA examination prior to the rating decision.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD, unspecified depressive disorder, alcohol use disorder, and cocaine use disorder due to a lack of evidence linking these conditions to his military service.
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