The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for panic attacks with agoraphobia is remanded due to the need for updated examination. The TDIU issue remains pending.
The deciding factor: The Veteran has provided new evidence suggesting his symptoms have worsened, necessitating a new VA examination to assess current disability level.
- Claimed conditions
- panic attacks, agoraphobia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 20, 2020
- Citation
- 20067766
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,188 · Granted: 23% (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 20067766.
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 has determined that the Veteran's persistent depressive disorder, moderate with anxious distress and panic attacks is related to his service in the Republic of Vietnam. The decision grants service connection for this condition.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal regarding the April 1, 2020 rating decision was dismissed because he did not timely file a VA Form 10182 and good cause has not been shown to extend the filing deadline.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claims of service connection for agoraphobia and anxiety due to an error in providing notice of hearing options.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for a disability rating in excess of 70 percent for his service-connected psychiatric conditions (panic attacks, generalized anxiety disorder, alcohol use disorder, and cannabis use disorder) was denied. The Board found that the Veteran did not meet the criteria for a 100 percent rating due to insufficient evidence of total occupational and social impairment.
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