The Board remands the claim for service connection of an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include generalized anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder, due to a pre-decisional error in failing to obtain a medical opinion that is sufficient to make an informed decision on the claim.
The deciding factor: Remand is necessary to correct a pre-decisional error in obtaining a medical opinion based on inaccurate facts and to obtain outstanding VA treatment records.
- Claimed conditions
- Generalized anxiety disorder, Major depressive disorder
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 21, 2024
- Citation
- A24067576
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 initial ratings of 40 percent for lumbar spine disorder, 70 percent for major depressive disorder, and 40 percent for left lower extremity radiculopathy. TDIU and SMC based on housebound status were also granted.
- Granted
The Board granted an effective date of May 9, 2022, for the grant of service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder with generalized anxiety disorder, other specified depressive disorder, and alcohol use disorder.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, currently diagnosed as other specified trauma and stressor related disorder and major depressive disorder.
- Denied
The Board denied an increased rating higher than 70 percent for the Veteran's psychiatric disorder, finding that his symptoms did not more closely approximate total occupational and social impairment.
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