The Board has determined that the original claim of entitlement to service connection for schizophrenia should be remanded due to a duty-to-assist error. A VA examination is needed to determine if the Veteran's schizophrenia or other acquired psychiatric disorder was caused by an in-service head injury.
The deciding factor: The Board found a need to correct a pre-decisional duty-to-assist error that occurred prior to the December 2019 SOC on appeal, and thus remanded for further development including obtaining a VA examination.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired psychiatric disorder, Schizophrenia
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 1, 2020
- Citation
- A20017735
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 an acquired psychiatric disorder, finding a causal relationship between the condition and an in-service incident of military sexual trauma (MST).
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the issue of entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of May 29, 2019 for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder but denied earlier effective dates and increased ratings for other conditions.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, a right knee disorder, and a lumbar spine disorder.
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.