The Board has remanded the cases for additional development and examination to address the Veteran's claims of service connection for various psychiatric, left leg, and gastrointestinal disabilities.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations obtained in March 2018 were inadequate as they did not reconcile prior diagnoses with current findings or provide a rationale for their conclusions regarding causation.
- Claimed conditions
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Major Depressive Disorder, Anxiety, Mixed Bipolar Disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 1, 2019
- Citation
- 19182730
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 was granted a disability rating of 70 percent for posttraumatic stress disorder and major depressive disorder, effective October 24, 2017. The Board also granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability due to the need for a more comprehensive medical examination and opinion.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for a heart disability, to include coronary artery disease (CAD), as secondary to the Veteran's anxiety and assigned a 70 percent rating from April 29, 2025. The Board also granted an initial 30 percent rating prior to that date.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for an earlier effective date for service connection of an acquired psychiatric disability, to include PTSD, as it needs a medical opinion addressing the nature and etiology of the condition prior to October 16, 2023.
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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.