The Board has remanded the cases due to incomplete records and need for additional medical opinions.
The deciding factor: The decision is based on the need for clarification regarding SSA records and a retroactive VA opinion for the time period from December 28, 2012, to January 4, 2017.
- Claimed conditions
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) with alcohol dependence
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 5, 2021
- Citation
- 21061914
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,549 · Granted: 29% (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 21061914.
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 Veteran's PTSD with alcohol dependence is currently rated at 30 percent, and the Board finds that a higher rating is not warranted based on the evidence of record.
- Granted
The Board granted an increased 70 percent disability rating for PTSD with alcohol dependence effective November 1, 2019, and an earlier effective date of November 1, 2019, for basic eligibility to Dependents' Educational Assistance under 38 U.S.C. Chapter 35.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's request for an earlier effective date for a 70 percent disability rating for PTSD with alcohol dependence and residuals of TBI with peripheral vestibular disorder, finding that the severity, frequency, and duration of his symptoms did not more closely approximate occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas prior to March 28, 2023.
- Partly granted
The Veteran was granted a 70 percent rating for PTSD with alcohol dependence prior to July 13, 2023, and the claim for a higher rating from that date was denied. The claims for earlier effective dates for TDIU and Dependents' Educational Assistance were also denied.
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