The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claim for service connection of an acquired psychiatric disability, currently characterized as unspecified depressive disorder. The AOJ is required to make attempts to obtain the Veteran's complete service treatment records and military personnel records, including separation examination and any other records related to his discharge from active service. Additionally, VA must provide a medical opinion based on all available evidence that addresses whether the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disability is at least as likely as not related to an in-service injury or disease.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the claims folder did not include complete STRs and military personnel records, which are necessary for a proper evaluation of the claim. The AOJ must make these attempts and provide a medical opinion based on all available evidence.
- Claimed conditions
- unspecified depressive disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 16, 2024
- Citation
- A24066234
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,500 · Granted: 29% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 A24066234.
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 has determined that the Veteran's current unspecified depressive disorder is related to his service-connected disabilities, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected unspecified depressive disorder with insomnia disorder is rated at 30 percent, and the Board has determined that this rating is not sufficient to reflect his disability picture.
- Granted
The Veteran's anxiety and depressive disorders were rated at a 70 percent disability rating effective May 6, 2015.,Effective May 6, 2015, the Veteran was granted an earlier effective date for DEA benefits.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for unspecified depressive disorder is granted, while the claim for PTSD remains denied due to lack of credible supporting evidence and in-service stressor confirmation.
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