The Board has remanded the case due to an inadequate VA examination in May 2016. A new VA examination is needed to determine if any current psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, generalized anxiety disorder, unspecified anxiety disorder, and unspecified depressive disorder, are related to active military service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner's opinion from the May 2016 VA examination was not adequate for adjudication purposes as it did not provide an opinion regarding whether the diagnoses of record during the relevant appeal period were valid.
- Claimed conditions
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Unspecified Anxiety Disorder, Depressive Disorder, Trauma-and Stressor-Related Disorder, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 20, 2021
- Citation
- 21023386
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 21023386.
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
Service connection for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is granted. The appeal as to the issue of entitlement to service connection for erectile dysfunction is dismissed.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection for PTSD has been dismissed as the claim was granted and effective from February 22, 2023.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's generalized anxiety disorder is related to his active-duty service and has granted service connection for this condition.
- Granted
The Veteran's psychiatric disorder, specifically depressive disorder, is rated at 70 percent effective from August 3, 2021. The claim for a higher rating remains denied.
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