The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete personnel and service treatment records, including those related to the appellant's mental health issues and disciplinary record. The AOJ is instructed to obtain these records and provide an opinion on whether the appellant was insane at the time of his in-service misconduct.
The deciding factor: Incomplete records prevented a determination on the character of service and potential service connection issues.
- Claimed conditions
- Bipolar Disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 30, 2019
- Citation
- 19182248
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 Board denied the Veteran's claim for special monthly compensation based on the need for aid and attendance due to his service-connected disabilities, including bipolar disorder.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, including PTSD and bipolar disorder, to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the case for a new examination with an addendum opinion to address whether the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorders are related to service.
- Denied
The Board denied a rating in excess of 70 percent for PTSD and remanded the issue of entitlement to TDIU.
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