The Board has decided to remand the case due to inadequate medical opinion and needs further examination for service connection of psychiatric disorders.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not consider the Veteran's claim that his psychiatric problems are related to interactions with supervisors in service, and thus an additional examination is needed.
- Claimed conditions
- Unspecified Depressive Disorder, Alcohol Use Disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 30, 2019
- Citation
- 19196736
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,084 · Granted: 20% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 19196736.
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's PTSD is related to fear of hostile military or terrorist activity in Vietnam, and his alcohol use disorder is due to his PTSD. Service connection for PTSD with alcohol use disorder has been granted.
- Denied
The Veteran's PTSD, OCD, GAD, and unspecified depressive disorder are rated at 70 percent disabling. The appeal for increased ratings is denied.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for PTSD with alcohol use disorder was denied, and he was granted a TDIU. The Board found that the symptoms did not meet criteria for a 100% disability rating.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and depressive disorder, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are at least as likely as not attributable to his active duty service.
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