The Board remands the claim for an initial disability rating higher than 30 percent for depressive disorder, from December 27, 2021 to March 28, 2022, due to a need to obtain outstanding private treatment records.
The deciding factor: A remand is required to obtain authorization and request relevant private treatment records to cure a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
- Claimed conditions
- depressive disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 1, 2024
- Citation
- A24062326
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 a disability rating of 50 percent for the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, characterized as depressive disorder, effective May 1, 2017.
- Partly granted
The Veteran is granted service connection for migraine headaches secondary to tinnitus, effective April 1, 2021. The claim for an earlier effective date for depressive disorder was denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder to obtain a VA examination and etiological opinion.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for lumbar spine degenerative arthritis, left and right lower extremity radiculopathies, left and right hip pain, right knee degenerative arthritis, generalized anxiety disorder, and depressive disorder.
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