The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and MDD. The RO must attempt to corroborate the Veteran’s in-service stressors and schedule a psychiatric examination to determine the nature and etiology of any current psychiatric disorders found.
The deciding factor: The decision is remanded due to duty to assist errors related to the development of the Veteran's reported stressors and for an opinion on the relationship between his current psychiatric conditions and service.
- Claimed conditions
- obstructive sleep apnea, low back disability, osteoarthritis of the hips, ankles, left knee, and fingers
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 5, 2020
- Citation
- A20015187
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 Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, effective from the date of the February 2025 rating decision.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeals for service connection for bilateral pes planus, obstructive sleep apnea, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issue of entitlement to service connection for obstructive sleep apnea due to a duty to assist error.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for various disabilities to the AOJ for further development and consideration of evidence not previously considered.
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