The Board remands the Veteran's claims to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors under the provisions of 38 C.F.R. § 20.802.
The deciding factor: There are outstanding and relevant VA authorized and private treatment records that should have been obtained prior to adjudication, which constitutes a pre-decisional duty to assist error requiring remand for correction.
- Claimed conditions
- unspecified bipolar and related disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 9, 2025
- Citation
- A25058719
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a restoration of the 40 percent disability rating for thoracolumbar spine degenerative disc disease and an initial 70 percent disability rating for unspecified bipolar and related disorder, along with a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected unspecified bipolar and related disorder alone.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for major neurocognitive disorder, unspecified bipolar and related disorder, and unspecified alcohol-related disorder due to an inadequate VA opinion.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for a psychiatric disorder, to include bipolar disorder, due to pre-decisional errors in considering all of the Veteran's psychiatric diagnoses and failing to obtain an adequate medical opinion.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of June 3, 2020, for the grant of a 100 percent evaluation for unspecified bipolar and related disorder.
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