The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional examinations and opinions regarding his claimed acquired psychiatric condition, right shoulder pain, left shoulder pain, right elbow pain, left elbow pain, right wrist carpal tunnel, left wrist carpal tunnel, left big toe pain, left knee strain, right hand strain, and bilateral hearing loss. The Veteran's service treatment records do not provide sufficient evidence to determine the etiology of these conditions.
The deciding factor: The claims are being remanded due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors that prevented the Veteran from receiving VA examinations and medical opinions for his claimed conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- major depressive disorder, alcohol use disorder, insomnia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 25, 2026
- Citation
- A26016882
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 A26016882.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for specially-adapted housing assistance and a special home adaptation grant was denied because he does not meet the criteria for either benefit based on his service-connected disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and major depressive disorder, is being remanded due to the need for additional development regarding his alleged stressors.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder and major depressive disorder has been dismissed as the appellant requested withdrawal of the appeal.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection of insomnia was denied, and the effective date is set to the date of receipt of the claim (May 31, 2024).
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