The Board has remanded six issues: service connection for PTSD and substance abuse, service connection for Hepatitis C, service connection for a right-hand disorder, increased rating for right shoulder disorders. The AOJ must issue an SSOC addressing the issues of entitlement to service connection for PTSD and substance abuse.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran had submitted new and material evidence to reopen claims for service connection for PTSD and substance abuse, combining them into one issue with expanded criteria. The AOJ granted service connection for unspecified depressive disorder with anxious distress but did not grant service connection for PTSD or substance abuse as originally sought.
- Claimed conditions
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Substance Abuse, Hepatitis C, Right-Hand Disorder
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 29, 2019
- Citation
- 19181574
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 a rating in excess of 70 percent for PTSD due to an inadequate medical opinion.
- Granted
The Board granted an effective date of February 21, 2007, for the award of service connection for PTSD and major depressive disorder with anxious distress.
- Granted
The Board granted a rating of 70 percent for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI), as the Veteran's symptoms most nearly approximated occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas.
- Granted
The Board granted a disability rating of 70 percent for PTSD and a total disability rating due to individual unemployability (TDIU) based on the Veteran's service-connected disabilities.
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