The Board remands the claim for a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran's psychiatric disorder, including whether it is related to service or secondary to a service-connected lumbosacral strain.
The deciding factor: Remand is necessary due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error in not obtaining a VA examination or opinion on direct service connection for the psychiatric disorder.
- Claimed conditions
- major depressive disorder (MDD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 17, 2025
- Citation
- A25109203
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,772 · Granted: 37% (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 A25109203.
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 Veteran's claim of service connection for dizziness, TBI, MDD, and anxiety disorder is granted as new evidence has been received. The claims are remanded to obtain VA examinations.
- Granted
The Veteran's major depressive disorder is related to her military service, and the Board has granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for earlier effective dates for service connection and TDIU was granted, with the effective date set at September 27, 2018.
- Granted
The Veteran's PTSD with MDD and middle insomnia are granted as service-connected. The left ankle, lumbar spine, and right ankle disabilities are also granted as service-connected. However, the Veteran's migraines, bilateral shins (tibialis posterior tendinitis), stomach pain, nausea, queasiness, and bilateral foot disabilities remain denied.
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