The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining updated VA treatment records and scheduling a VA examination to determine if the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder is secondary to his service-connected conditions. The issues of increased rating for posttraumatic headaches prior to December 11, 2017, and entitlement to TBI compensation are also remanded.
The deciding factor: The Board found that additional evidence was needed to determine if the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder is secondary to his service-connected conditions, including traumatic brain injury (TBI), posttraumatic headaches, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus. The issues of increased rating for posttraumatic headaches prior to December 11, 2017, and entitlement to TBI compensation are also remanded.
- Claimed conditions
- Posttraumatic headaches, Acquired psychiatric disorder (unspecified depressive disorder), TBI
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 26, 2019
- Citation
- 19189149
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 19189149.
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 case for additional medical evaluation to determine if the Veteran's symptoms are separate from his service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied an initial compensable rating for the Veteran's service-connected TBI and remanded the claim for service connection for headaches, to include as secondary to service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for all the claimed conditions as they are not related to active service.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for multiple conditions, but granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.
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