The Board remands the claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder to correct a duty to assist error that occurred prior to the February 2022 rating decision on appeal.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners' failure to consider the Veteran's lay statements when formulating the opinion renders it inadequate, constituting a pre-decisional duty to assist error requiring remand for correction.
- Claimed conditions
- unspecified depressive disorder
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 15, 2024
- Citation
- A24065630
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 70 percent rating for the Veteran's unspecified depressive disorder, finding that her symptoms more closely approximated those required for such a rating.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include major depressive disorder, mood disorder, and unspecified depressive disorder due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, variously diagnosed as unspecified depressive disorder and major depressive disorder.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of February 7, 2020, for the award of a 70 percent rating for unspecified depressive disorder and TDIU, but denied earlier effective dates for other conditions.
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