The Board remands the claim for a new examination to determine if the Veteran's major depressive disorder with anxious distress is caused or aggravated by his service-connected disabilities.
The deciding factor: The April 2022 and August 2022 VA opinions inadequately addressed the Veteran's specific contention that he has a psychiatric disability secondary to his service-connected disabilities, leading to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
- Claimed conditions
- major depressive disorder with anxious distress
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 26, 2025
- Citation
- A25027964
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 dismissed the appeal for service connection for a mental health condition and denied service connection for an eye condition. The claims for autoimmune limbic encephalitis with non-paraneoplastic limbic encephalitis (NPLE) with GAD65 antibodies and dystonia and dystonic tremor were remanded.
- Granted
The Board granted an earlier effective date of August 3, 2022, for the assignment of a 70 percent rating for major depressive disorder with anxious distress.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for the cause of death, finding that the Veteran's major depressive disorder with anxious distress contributed substantially or materially to her death.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for major depressive disorder with anxious distress.
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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.