The Board has remanded the cases for further development and consideration, including obtaining updated VA treatment records, private treatment records, and an examination addressing the Veteran's service-connected psychiatric disability. The issues of entitlement to a higher rating for anxiety and depression, service connection for throat pain and irritation with GERD, and TDIU are also being remanded.
The deciding factor: The Board found that additional development is needed due to outstanding treatment records and functional impact assessments.
- Claimed conditions
- anxiety disorder not otherwise specified (anxiety), recurrent major depressive disorder (depression), disorder manifested by symptoms of throat pain and irritation, to include gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 15, 2019
- Citation
- 19178417
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,772 · Granted: 37% (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 19178417.
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 Veteran's initial noncompensable (0 percent) disability rating for obstructive sleep apnea was increased to a 50 percent rating, effective August 2011. The Veteran is currently rated at 50 percent for the entire initial rating period due to his use of a CPAP machine.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected traumatic brain injury, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
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- Granted
The Veteran's major depressive disorder is found to be caused by his service-connected low back and radiculopathy disabilities, which prevent him from doing enjoyable activities and daily living tasks.
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