Citation Nr: 21008188
Decision Date: 02/11/21	Archive Date: 02/11/21

DOCKET NO. 14-39 312
DATE: February 11, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to service connection for depressive disorder, on a secondary basis, is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from October 1984 to April 1994. 

This matter initially came before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a September 2013 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO).  In that decision, the RO denied entitlement to service connection for depressive disorder on a direct and secondary basis.  The Board remanded the claim in May 2018 and denied the claim in October 2019.  Pursuant to a Joint Motion for Remand (JMR) filed by the Veteran’s representative and VA, in July 2020, the Court of Appeals for Veterans’ Claims (Court) vacated the Board’s October 2019 decision and remanded the claim to the Board for further development and readjudication in compliance with the specified directives.

Entitlement to Service Connection for Depressive Disorder, on a Secondary Basis, is Remanded

The parties to the JMR did not disturb the portion of the Board’s decision that denied service connection for a psychiatric disorder on a direct basis.  The only remaining issue on this appeal is therefore entitlement to service connection for depressive disorder on a secondary basis.  On that issue, the parties to the JMR found the most recent opinion inadequate because the examiner did not adequately address whether the Veteran’s service-connected disabilities aggravated his psychiatric disorder and did not provide a sufficient rationale as to causation.  Another remand is therefore required for an opinion that properly addresses both secondary causation and aggravation.

The matter is REMANDED for the following action:

Obtain an opinion from a VA psychiatrist.  The psychiatrist must review the claims file prior to rendering an opinion.  The psychiatrist should indicate whether the Veteran’s current psychiatric disability, to include depressive disorder, is either (a) caused or (b) aggravated, by any service-connected disability, to include diabetes and upper and lower extremity peripheral neuropathy. The psychiatrist should answer this question regardless of the other factors previously mentioned as possible causes of the current psychiatric disorder.  The question is whether, regardless of those other possible causes, the service-connected disabilities caused or aggravated the current psychiatric disability. 

 

 

Jonathan Hager

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	K. Henderson, Associate Counsel

The Board’s decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.