The Veteran's appeal for an increased evaluation of his depressive disorder and TDIU remains before the Board. The case is remanded to obtain additional medical evidence and to schedule a VA examination.
The deciding factor: Additional medical evidence is needed to determine the current severity of the Veteran's service-connected depressive disorder, which could affect the determination of appropriate disability ratings.
- Claimed conditions
- Depressive Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (NOS)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 8, 2020
- Citation
- 20065450
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,612 · Granted: 16% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 20065450.
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.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the claim for an increased disability rating in excess of 70 percent for depressive disorder NOS from January 21, 2014 as it was a purely ministerial implementation of the previous Board decision.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for increased ratings for PTSD is being remanded due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error and conflicting medical evidence.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's PTSD and depressive disorder NOS are currently rated as 50 percent disabling, but the Board has remanded for further development to determine if a higher rating is warranted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining an addendum opinion from a VA clinician to address the nature and etiology of the Veteran's claimed acquired psychiatric disorders.
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