The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's claimed acquired psychiatric disorders, including generalized anxiety disorder and persistent depressive disorder. A new VA examination is needed to determine if these conditions are related to service.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations were inadequate as they did not address the prior diagnoses in Dr. T.M.C.'s behavioral health evaluation.
- Claimed conditions
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Persistent Depressive Disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 14, 2020
- Citation
- 20002486
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for PTSD, generalized anxiety disorder, and somatic symptom disorder, as well as presumptive service connection for basal cell carcinoma under the PACT Act. Service connection was denied for chronic fatigue syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome, right restless leg syndrome, left restless leg syndrome, an increased rating for psychiatric disorder, bilateral hearing loss, a left forehead surgical scar, and allergic rhinitis.
- Granted
The Board granted a staged disability rating of 70 percent for the service-connected generalized anxiety disorder from January 8, 2024, resolving reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran.
- Denied
The Board denied earlier effective dates for the ratings of generalized anxiety disorder, right shoulder strain with AC joint osteoarthritis and AC joint separation, clavicle and/or scapula impairment, and tinnitus.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, residuals of traumatic brain injury (TBI), and multiple musculoskeletal conditions but denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss.
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