The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for paranoid schizophrenia and right great toe hallux valgus deformity due to new evidence. The case will be reviewed by a VA examiner who must provide opinions on whether the conditions are related to service, including any in-service physical altercations or willful disobedience.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the VA examiners' negative etiology opinions for paranoid schizophrenia did not consider the Veteran's in-service physical altercations and willful disobedience. The examiner must provide an addendum opinion to address these factors.
- Claimed conditions
- Paranoid schizophrenia, Right great toe hallux valgus deformity
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 4, 2021
- Citation
- 21061515
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,242 · Granted: 24% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 21061515.
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 has granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder other than paranoid schizophrenia, to include substance abuse disorders and PTSD, as secondary to the already service-connected paranoid schizophrenia. Service connection for PTSD is also granted based on evidence of record at least in equipoise with the claim.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter to obtain a medical opinion that addresses whether the Veteran's diagnosed conditions of paranoid schizophrenia and insomnia are related to service.
- Partly granted
The Veteran was granted an award of special monthly compensation (SMC) based on his service-connected paranoid schizophrenia and renal cancer, but the appeal for a higher level of SMC due to the need for a higher level of care in addition to regular aid and attendance was denied.
- Denied
The Veteran is found incompetent to handle her VA funds due to multiple psychiatric symptoms and frequent hospitalizations, despite receiving 100% disability pay.
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