The Board remands the case to obtain outstanding SSA records relevant to the Veteran's claim for an increased rating for an acquired psychiatric disorder.
The deciding factor: The evidence shows that the Veteran applied for Social Security Administration (SSA) benefits, and efforts were not made to obtain these records at the time of the July 2023 rating decision. The Board finds that attempts to obtain and associate with the claims file any outstanding SSA records should be made.
- Claimed conditions
- specific phobia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- April 30, 2025
- Citation
- A25039668
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,726 · Granted: 19% (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 A25039668.
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
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The appeal is remanded to schedule a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran's sleep disorder.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted service connection for specific phobia with generalized anxiety disorder, finding that the Veteran's current disability is due to his in-service events and assigning substantial probative weight to the opinions of the VA examiner.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for a recurrent depressive disability and specific phobia was granted. The claim for service connection for basal cell carcinoma is remanded due to the need for additional medical examination.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's major depressive disorder and specific phobia began during his service in Vietnam, and thus grants service connection for these conditions.
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