The Board has remanded the case due to a pre-decisional duty-to-assist error and for an adequate medical opinion regarding the nature and etiology of any acquired psychiatric disability, including PTSD. The Veteran's alcohol use disorder is also being evaluated.
The deciding factor: There were deficiencies in the VA examiner's opinion that required a remand to correct these errors and obtain a new examination with an adequate medical opinion.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired psychiatric disability (including PTSD), Alcohol use disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 21, 2024
- Citation
- A24048806
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 A24048806.
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 requests for an effective date prior to June 3, 2020 for the grants of service connection for PTSD and tinnitus. The decision states that VA did not receive an ITF in September 2019 as claimed by the Veteran or her representative, and thus no earlier effective date can be granted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the etiology of the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorders, particularly PTSD. The Veteran is seeking service connection for these conditions and related stressors.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected psychiatric and substance use disabilities required inpatient treatment at a VA-approved residential treatment center (RTC) from April to June 2020, exceeding the 21-day threshold for temporary total rating. The Board granted this claim.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the April 2021 VA examination is inadequate to rate the Veteran's tension headaches and PTSD. Therefore, a remand is necessary to obtain updated private treatment records and conduct new examinations.
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