The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, thrombosis, poor circulation, and edema. The SMC claim is also remanded due to its inextricability with other issues.
The deciding factor: The decision was not fully compliant with prior remand instructions and requires further examination and consideration of the competency of the VA examiners.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired Psychiatric Disorder (including PTSD and depression), Thrombosis, Poor Circulation, and Edema
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 15, 2020
- Citation
- 20066837
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,963 · Granted: 32% (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 20066837.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder (including PTSD and depression), a heart condition, and obstructive sleep apnea. The Board found that there was no evidence to support these claims.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to insufficient medical evidence and a need for further development. The issues include PTSD, depression, hypertension, sinusitis, bilateral pes planus, right hand chemical burn, left knee injury, right tennis elbow and arm pain, bilateral shoulder pain, contusion to the neck, and residuals of a left ankle injury.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the appeals for service connection of low back disability and bilateral hip disability. The appeal for service connection of acquired psychiatric disorder (including PTSD and depression) is remanded.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran did not meet the criteria to establish service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and depression due to lack of credible in-service stressors. Bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus were also denied.
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