The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for a psychiatric disorder, bilateral foot disorder, and right wrist disorder due to potential errors in the initial decision. The Veteran is seeking service connection for these conditions on a secondary basis to his existing service-connected disabilities.
The deciding factor: The VA medical opinion was inadequate as it did not address whether the Veteran's current psychiatric disorder is at least partly attributable to pain from his service-connected lumbar spine disability, left knee disability, and right lower extremity radiculopathy disability. The pre-decisional evidence also suggested that the Veteran's bilateral foot and right wrist disorders may be related to in-service physical activities.
- Claimed conditions
- Psychiatric Disorder, Bilateral Foot Disorder, Right Wrist Disorder
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 26, 2026
- Citation
- A26027650
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 A26027650.
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.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a psychiatric disorder and female sexual dysfunction, finding that the Veteran's current diagnoses are at least as likely as not related to her military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection are remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions regarding the onset and relationship of his psychiatric disorder, hypertension, and sleep apnea to his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to an inadequate VA opinion regarding whether a separate psychiatric disorder is superimposed on the Veteran's personality disorder. The case will be reviewed with a new examination to determine if there are any other service-connected conditions.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the Veteran's psychiatric disorders, including PTSD, finding that there was no evidence to support a link between his current conditions and his military service.
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