The Board has determined that the Veteran's current acquired psychiatric disorder likely preexisted service and may have been aggravated by post-service psychosocial stressors. However, there is insufficient evidence to definitively determine if the condition was present prior to service or if it was aggravated during service. The case is therefore being remanded for further clarification.
The deciding factor: The VA medical opinions provided in November 2014 and November 2017 did not address whether the Veteran's current acquired psychiatric disorder preexisted service and, if so, whether it was clear and unmistakable that such disorder was not aggravated by his service.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired psychiatric disorder
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 29, 2020
- Citation
- 20081297
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 granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, finding a causal relationship between the condition and an in-service incident of military sexual trauma (MST).
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the issue of entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of May 29, 2019 for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder but denied earlier effective dates and increased ratings for other conditions.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, a right knee disorder, and a lumbar spine disorder.
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