The Board remands the claims for service connection for a psychiatric condition and entitlement to TDIU prior to October 24, 2022, due to an inadequate medical opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's psychiatric disorder.
The deciding factor: The January 2022 VA examination was found to be inadequate as it did not consider the Veteran's lay statements or provide a rationale for why his current psychiatric condition was not related to military service.
- Claimed conditions
- Psychiatric condition, unspecified depressive disorder, major depressive disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 10, 2024
- Citation
- A24064814
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.
- Partly granted
The Veteran was granted a 70 percent initial disability rating for PTSD effective December 2, 2021, but the claim for an increased rating in excess of 70 percent was denied. The appeal also included claims for service connection and ratings for various conditions, some of which were granted while others were remanded.
- Dismissed
The claim for an earlier effective date for service connection for major depressive disorder is dismissed as moot because the earliest effective date was granted during the pendency of this appeal.
- Granted
The Board granted an effective date of October 17, 2022, for the grant of service connection for PTSD.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for headaches and increased ratings for left shoulder rotator cuff tear, right shoulder rotator cuff tear, hypertension, and left and right leg restless leg syndrome. The Board denied a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss and an initial rating in excess of 70 percent for posttraumatic stress disorder.
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