The Board remanded the case for the RO to determine whether service personnel records received in March and April 1997 were newly added and relevant, and if so, whether reconsideration of the October 1996 claim for service connection for a psychiatric disorder is warranted under 38 C.F.R. § 3.156(c). The CUE motion is premature and will be addressed after the reconsideration determination is made.
The deciding factor: The Board found the RO failed to address whether reconsideration was warranted based on service personnel records received after the January 1997 rating decision, which documented the Veteran's psychiatric diagnosis and discharge, constituting a pre-decision duty to assist error.
- Claimed conditions
- psychiatric disorder, nervous condition, major depressive disorder, single episode
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 23, 2025
- Citation
- A25036995
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,911 · Granted: 10% (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 A25036995.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the appellant's motion to revise a September 1949 rating decision that denied service connection for a nervous condition, finding no CUE and concluding the denial was not erroneous.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claims for increased evaluations and SMC based on housebound status and aid and attendance, with the initial decisions being in February and June 2023. The appellant is eligible to attorney fees based on past-due benefits awarded in September 2024.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeal for service connection of psychiatric disorder. Service connection was granted for heart condition, throat condition, and hypertension due to herbicide exposure in Japan. Diabetes condition is denied as there is no evidence of treatment or diagnosis.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities were considered permanent and total in nature as of August 6, 2020, which is the earliest date on which she can establish basic eligibility for DEA under 38 U.S.C. Chapter 35.
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