The Board remands the claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder and epilepsy/seizure disorder due to a pre-decisional duty-to-assist error.
The deciding factor: There is no adequate medical opinion of record, and the AOJ's reliance on an inadequate medical opinion is a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
- Claimed conditions
- Post-traumatic stress disorder, Bipolar disorder, Unspecified personality disorder with opioid use and alcohol use disorder, Major depressive disorder, Mood disorder, Epilepsy and seizure disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- April 2, 2025
- Citation
- A25030232
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 913 · Granted: 41% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation A25030232.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected major depressive disorder does not render him in need of regular aid and attendance or confined to his home, thus SMC based on housebound status and/or need for regular aid and attendance is denied.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted special monthly compensation (SMC) at the (o) rate and SMC at the (r)(2) rate, effective January 19, 2025. The decision finds that the Veteran's service-connected conditions warrant these awards due to his need for aid and attendance.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including major depressive disorder, as secondary to his already service-connected hearing loss and tinnitus.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for major depressive disorder, finding that the Veteran's current diagnosis is related to his in-service harassment. Service connection was denied for a binge eating disorder as there is no evidence of such a condition.
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