The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric condition, including as due to military sexual trauma (MST), and loss of teeth. The decision is pending further development.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners have yet to provide a clear opinion regarding whether the Veteran's current mental health condition could be related to the documented May 1983 incident where her teeth were knocked out, or if it was due to MST as alleged by the Veteran.
- Claimed conditions
- Loss of teeth, Acquired psychiatric condition (PTSD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 22, 2024
- Citation
- 24003131
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,569 · Granted: 26% (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 24003131.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's bladder cancer residuals are granted an increased rating of 40 percent, but no higher. Service connection for loss of teeth is granted. The claim for service connection for PTSD is remanded due to inadequate examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to duty-to-assist errors, including failure to obtain SSA records and failed attempts at contacting the Veteran for a PTSD examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for an evaluation in excess of 20 percent for diabetic peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral lower extremities and for loss of teeth. The anterior trunk scar is rated at 10 percent, but no higher.
- Granted
The Veteran's claims for service connection for major depressive disorder with moderate and recurrent anxious distress, and loss of teeth were granted effective December 19, 2022.
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