The Board remanded the veteran's claim for service connection of major depressive disorder due to inadequate medical opinions and a duty to assist error.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the VA examinations were inadequate and did not clarify the etiology of the diagnosed condition.
- Claimed conditions
- major depressive disorder, recurrent, moderate, with anxious distress
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 13, 2025
- Citation
- A25002585
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 705 · Granted: 38% (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 A25002585.
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 service-connected major depressive disorder, recurrent, moderate, with anxious distress, alone prevented him from obtaining or maintaining gainful employment.
- Denied
The Board denied an effective date prior to October 15, 2023, for the grant of a 70 percent disability rating for major depressive disorder and denied an initial compensable disability rating for tinea versicolor.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for major depressive disorder, recurrent, moderate, with anxious distress and remanded the claim for cervical spine condition.
- Dismissed
The appeal for an earlier effective date for service connection of major depressive disorder and insomnia disorder was dismissed because the veteran withdrew the appeal.
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