The Board remands the claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder to correct a duty to assist error, as the previous medical opinions did not provide adequate rationale regarding whether the Veteran's condition had its onset in service or was aggravated by service.
The deciding factor: The examiner's opinions were inadequate because they did not address whether the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder both clearly and unmistakably preexisted service and was not worsened by service.
- Claimed conditions
- acquired psychiatric disorder, to include anxiety and depression
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 5, 2025
- Citation
- A25020297
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,456 · Granted: 23% (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 A25020297.
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 Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, back disability, bilateral achilles tendonitis, gout, diabetes mellitus, type 2 (DMII), obstructive sleep apnea, and an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include anxiety and depression. The Board denied increased ratings for right and left knee degenerative joint disease, separate ratings for instability of the knees, a separate rating for residuals of a right knee meniscectomy, and service connection for bilateral leg pain, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), chronic sinus disability, respiratory disability due to exposure to asbestos, heart murmur, irregular heartbeat, and seizures.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for neck pain, bilateral hearing loss, right lower extremity sciatica, an acquired psychiatric disorder (anxiety and depression), obstructive sleep apnea, sinusitis, and left plantar fasciitis.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for tinnitus and remanded the claims for an acquired psychiatric disorder, a bilateral finger condition, eczema, and a bilateral eye condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for dermatitis, an acquired psychiatric disorder, and sebaceous cyst condition to correct a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
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