The Board has remanded the case due to new evidence and a need for further development, including an updated character of discharge determination, obtaining inpatient or clinical records from San Diego Naval Medical Center, and obtaining private medical treatment records.
The deciding factor: New service records indicate the Veteran was diagnosed with psychosis during service, which could potentially establish service connection. However, the AOJ needs to make a new determination regarding the Veteran's character of discharge due to his in-service offenses.
- Claimed conditions
- psychosis, major depressive disorder with recurrent psychosis, psychotic disorder, paranoid schizophrenia
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 13, 2020
- Citation
- 20073060
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 20073060.
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 Veteran's claim for earlier effective date for service connection of acquired psychiatric disabilities was denied as the earliest date entitlement arose is April 16, 2019, which is later than the date of receipt of his July 19, 2019 supplemental claim.
- Granted
The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disabilities, including bipolar disorder, PTSD, MDD with psychotic features, depression, anxiety, alcohol use disorder, tobacco use disorder, and psychosis are found to have begun during service or be related to in-service events. The claims for sleep disturbances and bilateral eye disabilities are remanded.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal has been dismissed as the appellant, through his representative, withdrew the appeal prior to a decision being made.
- Granted
The March 2000 rating decision denying service connection for psychosis and depression was revised to grant it, with an effective date of June 17, 1999.,The April 2013 rating decision granting PTSD with depression, anxiety, and panic attacks was revised to reflect a more recent effective date of June 17, 1999.
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