The Board denied an initial rating in excess of 70 percent for major depressive disorder recurrent with psychotic features and remanded the claims for service connection for a low back disability, entitlement to a rating in excess of 10 percent for right foot strain, and entitlement to an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for right ankle strain with Achilles tendonitis.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not show total occupational and social impairment due to the Veteran's major depressive disorder recurrent with psychotic features. The remand was necessary to obtain additional medical evidence regarding the low back disability, right foot strain, and right ankle strain with Achilles tendonitis claims.
- Claimed conditions
- major depressive disorder recurrent with psychotic features, low back disability, right foot strain, right ankle strain with Achilles tendonitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 3, 2025
- Citation
- A25057610
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,863 · Granted: 26% (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 A25057610.
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 Board has found that remand is needed for the Veteran's claims due to duty to assist errors, including clarification of periods of service and obtaining relevant records. The Veteran will be afforded new medical examinations for each claimed disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and remanded the claims of right shoulder disability and low back disability due to insufficient evidence.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection of a low back disability was granted with an effective date of January 9, 2018. The Board accepted her November 21, 2019 VA Form 20-0996 as a valid opt-in of the April 2019 SOC into the modernized review system.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection claims for various conditions were granted effective from July 1, 2020.
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