The Board remands the matter for further development, including obtaining additional private treatment records and an addendum opinion regarding service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner's opinions were found to be inadequate due to internal inconsistencies and disregard of the Veteran's lay reports of continuing symptomatology since his service. Additionally, there is no indication of a mental disorder or symptoms while in service, nor evidence of a continuous presence of a mental disorder since discharge.
- Claimed conditions
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), Major depressive disorder with anxious distress, Alcohol use disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 10, 2025
- Citation
- A25051008
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 882 · Granted: 22% (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 A25051008.
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 Veteran's major depressive disorder with anxious distress is rated at 30 percent, and the Board has determined that a higher rating is not warranted.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's requests for an effective date prior to June 3, 2020 for the grants of service connection for PTSD and tinnitus. The decision states that VA did not receive an ITF in September 2019 as claimed by the Veteran or her representative, and thus no earlier effective date can be granted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the etiology of the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorders, particularly PTSD. The Veteran is seeking service connection for these conditions and related stressors.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a duty to assist error where VA was aware of relevant private treatment records but did not notify the appellant or request a release for these records.
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