The Board remands the Veteran's claim for an acquired psychiatric disability, claimed as secondary to service-connected disabilities, due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
The deciding factor: The AOJ's reliance on an inadequate examination is a pre-decisional duty to assist error, and in the absence of an adequate etiology opinion of-record, a remand is necessary to allow the Veteran to properly develop his claim.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired psychiatric disability, claimed as secondary to service-connected disabilities
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 28, 2025
- Citation
- A25047236
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 Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 50 percent for her acquired psychiatric disability, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, to include PTSD, as the evidence did not support a finding that his current mental health conditions were related to his active duty service.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's appeal for a disability rating in excess of 50 percent for an acquired psychiatric disability, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for a psychiatric disability to provide the Veteran with a VA examination.
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