The Board remands the matter for an addendum opinion to address conflicting evidence regarding the etiology of the Veteran's psychiatric condition, including whether it is related to service or aggravated by a service-connected disability.
The deciding factor: Remand required due to inadequate consideration of private medical opinion and conflicting VA examination findings.
- Claimed conditions
- psychiatric condition, to include bipolar disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 28, 2025
- Citation
- 25005771
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection, higher ratings, and earlier effective dates, as well as dismissed his claim for a TDIU.
- Granted
The Board granted an increased rating of 70 percent for the Veteran's service-connected psychiatric condition, as it meets the criteria for occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas.
- Granted
The Veteran's additional disabilities, including kidney failure, septic shock, and foot ulcers, were caused by VA care due to the hospital's failure to exercise the degree of care expected of a reasonable healthcare provider.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for a left knee condition and a psychiatric condition, but denied service connection for COPD.
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.