The appeal for service connection of psychiatric disorders, including Bipolar II Disorder, Alcohol Use Disorder, and Stimulant Use Disorder, is remanded. The Board needs to correct duty-to-assist errors and obtain missing records.
The deciding factor: The Board found that relevant outstanding records were not obtained prior to adjudicating the claim, and an adequate examination and nexus opinion are required.
- Claimed conditions
- Bipolar II Disorder, Alcohol Use Disorder, Stimulant Use Disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 15, 2025
- Citation
- A25003817
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,934 · Granted: 41% (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 A25003817.
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 PTSD is related to fear of hostile military or terrorist activity in Vietnam, and his alcohol use disorder is due to his PTSD. Service connection for PTSD with alcohol use disorder has been granted.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for PTSD with alcohol use disorder was denied, and he was granted a TDIU. The Board found that the symptoms did not meet criteria for a 100% disability rating.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical evidence regarding the Veteran's PTSD and bipolar disorder, as well as a failure to provide an adequate VA examination prior to the rating decision.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD, unspecified depressive disorder, alcohol use disorder, and cocaine use disorder due to a lack of evidence linking these conditions to his military service.
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