The Board remands the claim for an acquired psychiatric disability, to include PTSD, due to inadequate medical opinions and a need for additional development.
The deciding factor: The failure to obtain an adequate medical opinion constitutes a pre-decisional duty to assist error, necessitating a remand for further development.
- Claimed conditions
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Acquired psychiatric disability, to include unspecified depressive disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 8, 2025
- Citation
- A25058273
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for degenerative joint disease of the right hip, left hip, and left shoulder, as well as PTSD. The claim for a higher rating for the right knee scar was denied.
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