The Board has remanded the case for an addendum VA medical opinion to address all acquired psychiatric disorders diagnosed since September 2016, including depressive disorder, mixed anxiety and depressive disorder, mood disorder, and major depression. The examiner is asked to determine if any of these diagnoses are related to exposure to contaminated drinking water at Camp Lejeune or caused by or aggravated by the Veteran's service-connected hearing loss or tinnitus.
The deciding factor: The remand is due to the need for an addendum VA medical opinion that addresses all acquired psychiatric disorders diagnosed since September 2016, including depressive disorder, mixed anxiety and depressive disorder, mood disorder, and major depression, and determines if any of these diagnoses are related to exposure to contaminated drinking water at Camp Lejeune or caused by or aggravated by the Veteran's service-connected hearing loss or tinnitus.
- Claimed conditions
- depression, mixed anxiety and depressive disorder, mood disorder, major depression
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Camp Lejeune water
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 28, 2020
- Citation
- 20063416
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 20063416.
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 remanded the case for additional development regarding the Veteran's service connection claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining in-service psychiatric treatment records and scheduling a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of any acquired psychiatric disorder.
- Denied
The Veteran's depression was rated at 50 percent prior to July 1, 2016. The Board found that the evidence did not support a higher rating due to occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity. For TDIU, the Veteran had multiple service-connected disabilities but his education and work experience were sufficient for sedentary or light labor employment.
- Granted
The Veteran's depression was rated at 50 percent prior to September 27, 2017. From September 27, 2017, the rating for depression increased to 70 percent.
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