The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims of service connection for major depression and anxiety disorder, unspecified (claimed as stress disorder) and alcohol abuse due to inadequate medical opinions provided by VA examiners. The remand requires additional examination and opinion regarding whether these conditions are related to her service-connected disabilities.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the previous medical opinions were insufficient to address the secondary service connection issues, specifically failing to clarify if the Veteran's pre-existing conditions clearly and unmistakably did not aggravate beyond their normal progression by active service.
- Claimed conditions
- Major depression, Anxiety disorder, unspecified (claimed as stress disorder), Alcohol abuse
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 4, 2021
- Citation
- A21017834
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 A21017834.
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.
- Dismissed
The appeal has been dismissed due to the death of the Veteran.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for major depression, finding that it is related to events of service. The evidence received since the prior denial supports this determination.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder with alcohol abuse is at least as likely as not related to service, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to an inadequate medical opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder. The claim will be reconsidered with a new medical opinion.
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