The Board has remanded the cases for additional development due to inadequate medical opinions and uncorroborated stressor events. The Veteran's PTSD is being reviewed again, including consideration of service-related stressors and a current diagnosis of major depressive disorder (MDD). The neck disability case is also being reviewed with consideration of continuous symptoms since service.
The deciding factor: The Board found the previous medical opinions insufficient to establish a nexus between the current psychiatric disabilities and service due to inadequate documentation of stressor events and uncorroborated personal assault claims. Additionally, the VA examiner did not consider the Veteran's MDD diagnosis in treatment records.
- Claimed conditions
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Residuals of Neck Sprain with Radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 27, 2020
- Citation
- 20069356
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 remands the claim for a rating in excess of 70 percent for PTSD due to an inadequate medical opinion.
- Granted
The Board granted an effective date of February 21, 2007, for the award of service connection for PTSD and major depressive disorder with anxious distress.
- Granted
The Board granted a rating of 70 percent for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI), as the Veteran's symptoms most nearly approximated occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas.
- Granted
The Board granted a disability rating of 70 percent for PTSD and a total disability rating due to individual unemployability (TDIU) based on the Veteran's service-connected disabilities.
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