The Board remands the Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include alcohol use disorder, for a thorough medical examination and opinion.
The deciding factor: Remand is required to correct VA's pre-decisional duty-to-assist error and provide an adequate medical opinion regarding the Veteran's claimed psychiatric condition.
- Claimed conditions
- acquired psychiatric disorder, alcohol use disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 7, 2025
- Citation
- A25031929
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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for a liver condition, finding it to be secondary to the Veteran's service-connected depressive disorder.
- Remanded (sent back)
The appeal is remanded for further development and consideration of the Veteran's claims for service connection for various acquired psychiatric disorders.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for a psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD, MDD, and alcohol use disorder, as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected right knee disability and tinnitus.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder to correct a duty to assist error, requiring further examination and review of private treatment records.
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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.