The Board has remanded the case due to a lack of a VA examination for the claimed acquired psychiatric disorder, and the need to determine its nature and etiology.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's mother reported that his mental health worsened after service, and post-service medical records show treatment for a psychiatric disability. The Board finds it necessary to obtain a VA examination to determine the onset of the disability during service or its relation to service.
- Claimed conditions
- schizoaffective disorder bipolar type
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 6, 2026
- Citation
- A26020532
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 A26020532.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board denied an effective date prior to June 12, 2021 for the assignment of a 70 percent evaluation for schizoaffective disorder bipolar type and denied effective dates prior to June 12, 2021 for service connection for right knee instability and painful scars on the right lower extremity. However, it granted an effective date of August 24, 2020 but no earlier for TDIU and DEA benefits.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claim due to inadequate medical opinions regarding the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorders, including PTSD. The case will be returned for a new examination and opinion from a clinician.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, major depression, schizoaffective disorder bipolar type, schizoaffective personality disorder, bipolar disorder, psychotic disorder NOS, paranoid schizophrenia, and adjustment disorder with depressive features, is remanded due to the failure to provide a VA examination as per the Board's February 2022 remand directives.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's request for an earlier effective date prior to June 21, 2010 for PTSD with schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type. The decision found that the Veteran's service records were of record at the time of the original rating decision in December 1985 and did not support a retroactive evaluation due to lack of evidence of an in-service event.
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