The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding whether the Veteran's psychiatric disorders preexisted service and were aggravated by it. The Veteran is asked to provide records from a behavioral health facility and undergo an examination to clarify these issues.
The deciding factor: Insufficient medical opinions regarding the preexistence of the diagnosed mental health disorders and their relation to service are needed.
- Claimed conditions
- unspecified psychotic disorder, anxiety depression disorder (psychiatric disability)
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 29, 2021
- Citation
- 21025969
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 21025969.
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 unspecified psychotic disorder and generalized anxiety disorder, finding that the appellant's symptoms had their onset during a period of active duty for training (ACDUTRA).
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for an acquired psychiatric disability, finding that the shooting incident was not caused by VA hospital care or treatment.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for unspecified psychotic disorder is being remanded due to incomplete medical opinions regarding the relationship between his psychiatric condition and active service.
- Granted
The Board has granted effective dates of December 24, 1981 for the service connection of unspecified psychotic disorder with moderate alcohol use disorder and traumatic brain injury, as well as migraine headaches. The decision is based on evidence showing that the Veteran filed a claim within one year of his separation from service.
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