The Board remands the claims for an initial disability rating in excess of 30 percent for persistent depressive disorder, and service connection for lumbosacral strain (back condition) and cervical strain (neck condition), to obtain additional evidence.
The deciding factor: Insufficient evidence exists to determine a direct link between the Veteran's claimed conditions and her military service; further development is necessary.
- Claimed conditions
- Persistent depressive disorder, Lumbosacral strain (back condition), Cervical strain (neck condition)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 7, 2025
- Citation
- A25057980
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 earlier effective dates of November 5, 2021, for the grants of service connection and eligibility for DEA benefits.
- Partly granted
The Board denied increased ratings for persistent depressive disorder and diabetes mellitus type II, granted an increased rating of 10 percent for hypertension, and granted an increased rating of 20 percent for bilateral hearing loss. The Board also remanded service connection for cardiac arrhythmia.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's appeal for a rating in excess of 70 percent for anxiety disorder and granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder to correct a pre-decisional duty to assist error, as no VA examination or medical opinion addressing the etiology of the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disability has been conducted.
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