The Veteran's service connection claim for major depressive disorder with anxious distress is granted. The Board also remanded the cases of hypertension, sleep apnea, and right ankle condition due to need for additional medical opinions.
The deciding factor: There are insufficient medical opinions regarding the etiology of the Veteran's current conditions and their relationship to his service or other factors.
- Claimed conditions
- Major Depressive Disorder, Anxiety Disorder NOS, Hypertension, Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Right Ankle Condition
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 2, 2020
- Citation
- 20000124
Veterans Law Judge
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 20000124.
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 major depressive disorder is found to be caused by his service-connected low back and radiculopathy disabilities, which prevent him from doing enjoyable activities and daily living tasks.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim of service connection for hypertension, finding that it did not manifest during service and is not causally related to the Veteran's exposure to herbicides or service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for an increased rating for PTSD and TDIU are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including a new VA examination.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current condition and active duty service or herbicide exposure.
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