The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder and a skin disorder, as well as his claim for TDIU due to VA failing to fulfill its duty to assist in obtaining private treatment records. The case will be remanded for additional development including obtaining private dermatology records of Dr. J., arranging for a VA mental health examination, and readingjudging the claims.
The deciding factor: The Board found that VA failed to obtain all relevant private treatment records, particularly those from Dr. J. regarding the Veteran's skin disorder. Additionally, there was insufficient evidence on record to determine if the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder is related to service or his service-connected disabilities (bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus).
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired psychiatric disorder (including PTSD and depression), Skin disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 17, 2021
- Citation
- 21015520
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 21015520.
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 the Veteran's eligibility for enrollment in VA's Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC) due to her not requiring personal care services for a minimum of six continuous months based on an inability to perform one or more activities of daily living, a need for supervision or protection, or a need for regular or extensive instruction without which the ability to function in daily life would be seriously impaired.
- Partly granted
The Board granted the reopening of claims for service connection for a heart disorder, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and gout. The remaining claims were remanded for further development.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a readjudication of the service connection claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder, denied service connection for a skin disorder and a rating in excess of 10 percent for bilateral hearing loss, and remanded claims for service connection for TBI.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and remanded the claims for a respiratory disorder, left hand disability, left knee disability, and skin disorder due to missing service personnel records.
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