The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional examinations and opinions to determine the etiology of his drop foot, bilateral shoulder, knee, and hip disabilities. The Board also notes that the Veteran has claimed exposure to Agent Orange but does not specify which conditions are related.
The deciding factor: The claims for service connection require further examination and opinion regarding the nature and etiology of the Veteran's drop foot, bilateral shoulder, knee, and hip disabilities due to their unclear relationship with his active duty service or any potential Agent Orange exposure. The Board cannot make a determination without additional evidence and analysis.
- Claimed conditions
- Persistent Depressive Disorder, Drop Foot, Bilateral Shoulder Disability, Bilateral Knee Disability, Bilateral Hip Disability
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 15, 2019
- Citation
- 19178545
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,820 · Granted: 26% (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 19178545.
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 persistent depressive disorder is rated at 70 percent, the highest available rating under the General Formula for Mental Disorders. The other issues have been denied.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for persistent depressive disorder with anxious distress was granted, effective January 17, 2024. The Board has now granted an earlier effective date of May 31, 2019.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the Veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD and bilateral knee disability must be remanded due to duty-to-assist errors. The Veteran's reported stressors need to be verified, and a VA examination is required to address the etiology of his bilateral knee condition.
- Dismissed
Your previously granted service-connected acquired psychiatric disability, characterized as PTSD with persistent depressive and insomnia disorder, now represents a full grant of the benefit sought on appeal. The appeal is dismissed.
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