The Board remands the claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD, GERD, and OSA due to a need for additional evidence.
The deciding factor: Remand is necessary to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors and obtain relevant records in the custody of a federal department or agency.
- Claimed conditions
- Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Depression, Alcohol abuse, Gastroesophageal reflux disorder (GERD), Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 21, 2025
- Citation
- A25090947
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 134 · 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 A25090947.
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 due to insufficient findings regarding PTSD and depression, requiring a new VA examination.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted special monthly compensation (SMC) at the (o) rate and SMC at the (r)(2) rate, effective January 19, 2025. The decision finds that the Veteran's service-connected conditions warrant these awards due to his need for aid and attendance.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), finding that both conditions are secondary to the Veteran's service-connected lower back condition and sinusitis, respectively.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to errors in the AOJ's handling of the Veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD, other specified trauma and stressor-related disorder, and depression. The AOJ is required to verify the Veteran's claimed stressor and obtain medical opinions regarding the diagnoses and their relation to service.
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