The appeal is remanded to correct a pre-decisional duty to assist error. The Board needs new opinions on whether the Veteran's psychiatric disorder was aggravated by service-connected heart disability and/or diabetes.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners did not address whether the Veteran's service-connected conditions aggravated his acquired psychiatric disorder.
- Claimed conditions
- acquired psychiatric disorder, adjustment disorder with anxiety and depressed mood, congestive heart failure with atrial flutter status post ablation (heart disability), diabetes mellitus, type II
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 28, 2025
- Citation
- A25007552
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 964 · 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 A25007552.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development regarding the Veteran's service connection claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeal regarding the claims for sleep apnea and an increased disability rating for diabetes mellitus, type II.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection on the merits are being remanded due to new evidence and development needs. The maximum disability rating for tinnitus has already been assigned.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for diabetes mellitus, type II, as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected PTSD. The decision finds that the Veteran's diabetes mellitus, type II is proximately due to his service-connected PTSD.
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