The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for depression and TDIU due to inconsistencies in the Veteran's psychiatric symptoms attributed to multiple factors, including back pain and relationship problems.
The deciding factor: The examiner is requested to provide an opinion on whether the Veteran’s depressive disorder was caused by or aggravated by his service-connected chronic low back pain.
- Claimed conditions
- depression, not otherwise specified
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 9, 2020
- Citation
- 20077790
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 20077790.
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 service connection for depression, not otherwise specified, as the evidence did not support a current diagnosis of any acquired psychiatric condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to pre-decisional errors and insufficient medical opinions, requiring further development of the record.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to pre-decisional errors and insufficient medical opinions, requiring further development of the record.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for higher initial ratings for depression, entitlement to SMC by reason of being housebound, and TDIU prior to March 26, 2014 are remanded due to the need for additional development. The Board will refer his claim for a TDIU on an extraschedular basis to the Director of Compensation Service.
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