The Board remands the claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder to obtain a new VA etiology opinion due to an inadequate previous opinion.
The deciding factor: The March 2021 VA examiner's opinion was insufficient as it did not provide rationale for its conclusions and failed to address the significance of post-service diagnoses.
- Claimed conditions
- Unspecified depressive disorder, Bipolar disorder, Alcohol use disorder
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 19, 2025
- Citation
- A25044586
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 an effective date of May 9, 2022, for the grant of service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder with generalized anxiety disorder, other specified depressive disorder, and alcohol use disorder.
- Granted
The Board granted a 70 percent evaluation for the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD and other specified trauma and stressor disorder and alcohol use disorder, resolving reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, generalized anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, and alcohol use disorder, as the Veteran's claimed in-service stressors were not credible.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, right hand tremors, left hand tremors, gout, and chronic kidney disease to obtain outstanding VA treatment records and provide a medical examination.
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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.