The Board has determined that there are pre-decisional duty to assist errors warranting remand for the following reasons: obtaining SSA records, providing a VA addendum medical opinion regarding the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, and addressing the TDIU claim.
The deciding factor: There were indications of potential relevant evidence (SSA disability benefits) at the time of the October 2023 rating decision that was not obtained. The VA medical opinions only addressed causation in finding the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder less likely than not proximately due to and/or the result of his hearing loss and tinnitus. No examination was provided addressing direct service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired psychiatric disorder
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 29, 2026
- Citation
- A26008367
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation A26008367.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a low back disability and an increased rating for his acquired psychiatric disorder. The Board found that there was no evidence linking the current disabilities to military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for a determination on whether injuries sustained in a November 2001 incident were in the line of duty. The claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder is also remanded due to its interdependence with the line of duty issue.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a duty to assist error in failing to obtain private treatment records from the Veteran's treating clinician.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date of August 13, 2018, for the award of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder is granted. The Veteran also meets the schedular criteria for entitlement to TDIU prior to June 1, 2023.
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