The Board has denied service connection for a neck disability, an acquired psychiatric disorder (including major depressive disorder and PTSD), and a headache disorder. The Veteran's claims for left ear hearing loss, bilateral foot disability, and left ankle disability are remanded.,Service connection is not granted for the Veteran’s claimed conditions due to lack of evidence linking them to service.
The deciding factor: The preponderance of the evidence does not support a finding that any current neck disability, acquired psychiatric disorder (including major depressive disorder and PTSD), or headache disorder began during service or is otherwise related to an in-service injury, event, or disease. The Veteran's STRs do not document any complaints or treatment for these conditions.,The Board found no evidence of a current diagnosis of a headache condition that was incurred during service. The Veteran’s stressors are deemed unverified and the VA examiner did not find them to be credible.
- Claimed conditions
- neck disability, acquired psychiatric disorder (including major depressive disorder and PTSD), headache disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 9, 2020
- Citation
- 20059364
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 20059364.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claim for service connection of a neck disability due to pre-decisional error in not obtaining a VA examination and medical opinion.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for neck and back disabilities due to a lack of medical evidence supporting the Veteran's assertions. The VA will obtain an examination and provide an opinion on whether these disabilities are related to service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for left leg shin splints, right leg shin splints, back disability, and neck disability due to insufficient evidence in the record regarding these conditions.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for neck and back disabilities, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are related to his military service.
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