The Board remands the claims for service connection for a back disability, an acquired psychiatric disorder, and a right shoulder disability for further development.
The deciding factor: Remand is required to obtain additional evidence and ensure compliance with the duty to assist, including scheduling appropriate examinations that consider toxic exposure risk activities under the PACT Act and 38 C.F.R. § 3.317(a).
- Claimed conditions
- Back disability, Acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD, Right shoulder disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Gulf War
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 12, 2025
- Citation
- A25022629
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 an initial rating of 20 percent for right lower extremity (RLE) radiculopathy but remanded the back disability claim for further development.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's appeal for increased ratings for right and left shoulder disabilities, as the evidence did not support a higher rating under applicable criteria.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, finding a causal relationship between the condition and an in-service incident of military sexual trauma (MST).
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the issue of entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
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