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
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.
- Partly granted
The Veteran was granted a 100 percent rating for his service-connected major depressive disorder with anxious distress, an effective date of January 2, 2024, for Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA), and Special monthly compensation (SMC) at the housebound rate from the same date. The appeal seeking entitlement to a total disability rating for individual unemployability (TDIU) was dismissed.
- 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.
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