The Board remands the claim for service connection of an acquired psychiatric disorder to correct a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
The deciding factor: The January 2024 VA opinion was found inadequate due to its reliance on the lack of evidence in the STRs without considering lay statements, and the Board finds that a remand is necessary for a new VA opinion.
- Claimed conditions
- major depressive disorder with anxious distress, generalized anxiety disorder, methamphetamine use disorder in early remission
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 12, 2025
- Citation
- A25042371
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The appeal is remanded to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors, including the failure to obtain relevant treatment records and provide adequate VA examinations.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including left foot condition, right foot condition, cellulitis, right ear hearing loss, and right lower extremity radiculopathy. The appeal of the proposal to reduce a 40 percent evaluation for lumbosacral strain was dismissed.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an initial rating of 70 percent for the Veteran's service-connected depressive disorder due to another medical condition with depressive features and generalized anxiety disorder, denied a higher rating for his migraine including migraine variants, and denied ratings for other conditions.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for generalized anxiety disorder and denied service connection for a lower back disorder. The claims for depression, substance abuse disorder, and a compensable initial rating for bilateral hearing loss were dismissed.
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