The Board has determined that additional medical opinions are needed to address the Veteran's claims for service connection for depressive disorder, radiculopathy of the left upper extremity, and radiculopathy of the right upper extremity. The remand is necessary due to inadequate previous VA examination opinions.
The deciding factor: The previous VA examination opinions were found to be inadequate for decision making purposes and do not address the Veteran's lay statements and VA treatment records regarding his physical conditions contributing to his mental health condition, as well as the relationship between his service-connected lumbar strain and cervical radiculopathy.
- Claimed conditions
- Depressive Disorder, NOS
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 16, 2021
- Citation
- 21074889
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 21074889.
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 claim for an earlier effective date for additional dependency compensation for his current spouse, R. R. A., is denied as he did not provide all necessary information to establish his entitlement within one year of the January 2018 rating decision which established and continued his disability compensation.
- Denied
The Veteran's appeal for a higher rating for his acquired psychiatric disorder, which includes chronic generalized anxiety, depressive disorder, and poly substance dependence in full remission, was denied. The Board found that the severity of the symptoms did not more closely approximate the criteria for a 70 percent rating.
- Granted
The Board has granted an effective date of July 30, 2001 for the grant of service connection for depressive disorder, NOS. The Veteran's claim was pending since his informal claim in April 2000 and a formal claim was submitted on July 30, 2001.
- Granted
The Board has granted an effective date of July 30, 2001 for the grant of service connection for depressive disorder, NOS. The Veteran's claim was pending since his informal claim in April 2000 and a formal claim on July 30, 2001.
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