The Board has determined that additional development is needed in both the Veteran's claims for an acquired psychiatric disorder and PTSD, as the current evidence does not provide sufficient information to determine if these conditions are related to his service. The VA examinations conducted did not address all aspects of the claims, particularly regarding the stressors claimed by the Veteran.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the September 2020 VA examination was inadequate for determining the Veteran's claim as it failed to provide an opinion on direct service connection and did not consider the Veteran's reported stressors in detail.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired psychiatric disorder (including unspecified depressive disorder, anxiety, and alcohol dependency), Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 19, 2021
- Citation
- 21002979
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 21002979.
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 has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorders and their relationship to service.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including his bilateral lower extremity conditions and PTSD, resulted in a loss of use of both lower extremities such that he is entitled to specially adapted housing.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for psychiatric disorders, including major depressive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder, finding that these conditions are related to military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's right and left hand pain are granted increased ratings, while his PTSD is denied an initial rating in excess of 50 percent.
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