The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection and rating of his acquired psychiatric disorders, including posttraumatic stress disorder and major depressive disorder. The Veteran also had his claim for a higher rating for his headaches remanded due to inadequate examination in 2011.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner failed to consider theories of secondary service connection and aggravation for the Veteran's psychiatric condition during the initial examination, which is why the claims are being remanded.
- Claimed conditions
- posttraumatic stress disorder, major depressive disorder
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 17, 2019
- Citation
- 19179163
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.
- Dismissed
The claim for an earlier effective date for service connection for major depressive disorder is dismissed as moot because the earliest effective date was granted during the pendency of this appeal.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for multiple conditions, including an acquired psychiatric disorder, sleep apnea, hypertension, and various musculoskeletal and skin disabilities.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for right and left hip degenerative arthritis as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected right ankle and knee conditions, and major depressive disorder as secondary to his service-connected knee and ankle conditions. The Board also granted a 10 percent rating for allergic rhinitis.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for major depressive disorder as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected tinnitus.
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.