The Board remands the claims for a disability rating greater than 30 percent, prior to March 15, 2018, and greater than 70 percent from March 15, 2018, for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as well as claims for increased ratings for diabetes mellitus and peripheral neuropathy in the lower extremities, due to an ongoing need to obtain evidence related to a compensation benefits fraud investigation.
The deciding factor: Remand is necessary to ensure compliance with the Board's May 2024 remand directives regarding the acquisition of relevant evidence from the USPS OIG and OPM relating to a compensation benefits fraud investigation conducted around 2013.
- Claimed conditions
- Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Diabetes mellitus, Left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, Right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 22, 2024
- Citation
- 24032054
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 granted service connection for PTSD, resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor and finding that his PTSD is related to an in-service military sexual trauma (MST) during a period of ACDUTRA.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of May 17, 2019, for a 70 percent disability rating for PTSD but denied earlier effective dates for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.
- Partly granted
The Board granted readjudication of previously denied claims for service connection for PTSD and COPD, while remanding other issues including entitlement to service connection for an eye disorder, hypertension, tinnitus, a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, TDIU, and an initial rating for PTSD.
- Denied
The appeal for service connection for PTSD was dismissed, and the claims for a compensable rating for the lower back scar, service connection for COPD, and peripheral artery disease were denied.
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