The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to insufficient evidence regarding his claimed conditions and their relationship to his military service. The VA is directed to attempt verification of non-combat stressors, schedule a psychiatric examination, and obtain medical opinions on hypertension, tension headaches, low back disability, bilateral knee disabilities, and left foot disability.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the evidence was insufficient to determine whether the Veteran's claimed conditions were incurred or aggravated by his military service due to lack of VA examinations and inadequate medical opinions. The Board directed the VA to attempt verification of non-combat stressors and obtain additional medical opinions on the etiology of the Veteran's conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired psychiatric disorder (including PTSD and bipolar disorder), Hypertension, Tension headaches, Low back disability, Bilateral knee disabilities, Left foot disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 10, 2022
- Citation
- 22027509
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 22027509.
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 Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a low back disability and an increased rating for his acquired psychiatric disorder. The Board found that there was no evidence linking the current disabilities to military service.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim of service connection for hypertension, finding that it did not manifest during service and is not causally related to the Veteran's exposure to herbicides or service.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current condition and active duty service or herbicide exposure.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected low back disability alone does not prevent him from securing and following a substantially gainful occupation.
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