The Veteran's claim for service connection for a psychiatric disability, diagnosed as unspecified neurocognitive disorder, is remanded due to inadequate examination and the need for additional TERA development.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner lacked qualifications to assess neurological issues and there are potential other in-service exposures related to the Veteran's MOS that should be evaluated.
- Claimed conditions
- unspecified neurocognitive disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 16, 2026
- Citation
- A26035834
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 A26035834.
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 Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for an addendum opinion regarding the nature and etiology of his unspecified neurocognitive disorder, which was diagnosed after a September 2021 heart surgery. The issues are about service connection on the merits.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for unspecified neurocognitive disorder, hypertension, and carotid artery atherosclerosis without stenosis as secondary to hypertension due to inadequate medical opinions regarding their etiology. The Veteran's exposure to burn pits during service is considered.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran withdrew his appeal for an increased rating for his service-connected unspecified neurocognitive disorder condition prior to the promulgation of a decision. The Board has also remanded the claims for entitlement to increased ratings for hypertension and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), gastritis.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for unspecified neurocognitive disorder based on secondary aggravation to the Veteran's service-connected hearing loss and tinnitus.
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