Bipolar disorder decisions — 2008

The Board found that the veteran's bipolar disorder was not incurred in or aggravated by active military service and may not be presumed to have been so incurred.

The Board found that the veteran does not have an innocently acquired psychiatric disability to include any manifested by paranoid schizophrenia or bipolar disorder that is due to disease or injury incurred in service. The currently demonstrated conditions are not considered to represent disabilities for which VA compensation is payable.

The veteran's bipolar disorder is found to have had its onset during active service and continues to affect him, warranting service connection.

The Board denied service connection for PTSD, bipolar disorder, and anxiety disorder due to lack of verified stressors and insufficient evidence supporting the occurrence of claimed events.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining evidence and providing a VA examination to assess the veteran's psychiatric conditions. The issue of service connection for psychiatric disability other than PTSD is also being addressed.

The Board denied the appellant's claim for service connection for the cause of her husband's death, finding that there was no evidence linking his death from septic shock and aspiration pneumonia to his period of service or a service-connected disability.

The Board has determined that the veteran's bipolar disorder was not incurred in or aggravated by active service and, therefore, denied her claim for service connection.

The Board has granted service connection for PTSD but denied service connection for Bipolar Disorder. The decision is mixed as it reopened the claim for PTSD and granted it, while denying the claim for Bipolar Disorder.

The Board has granted service connection for bipolar disorder and PTSD, finding that there is a 50 percent or better probability that these disorders are etiologically related to the veteran's active service.

The Board finds that the evidence is at least in equipoise as to whether the veteran's bipolar disorder is related to service, and thus grants service connection for this disability.

The Board has determined that the veteran's psychiatric disability is not proximately due to or the result of his service-connected heart disease.

The Board has granted an effective date of January 27, 2005 for the grant of TDIU based on the veteran's service-connected bipolar II disorder. The veteran was found to be unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment as a result of his disability as of that date.

The Board found that the veteran does not have a current low back, psychiatric, or cardiovascular disorder that is related to her active service. The evidence did not support granting service connection for any of these conditions.

The veteran's bipolar disorder has been productive of occupational and social impairment in most areas since August 11, 2006. The VA determined a rating in excess of 70 percent is warranted for this period.

The veteran's vocational goal for self-employment of retailing herbal products was denied due to the effects of his multiple service-connected and nonservice-connected disabilities, which prevent him from successfully achieving a vocational goal.,VA determined that the veteran is not currently feasible for employment under Chapter 31, thus denying continuation of the February 1998 vocational goal. Additionally, reimbursement for travel expenses was denied.

The VA determined that the veteran's service-connected bipolar disorder did not render him unemployable for substantially gainful employment during the period from January 3, 1997 to September 25, 2002.

The Board has determined that the veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including cyclothymic disorder and bipolar disorder, is the result of service.

The Board found that the veteran's PTSD is unrelated to the claimed personal assaults in service and his psychiatric disorders were not present during service or manifest within a year of separation from service. Therefore, the claims for service connection for PTSD and acquired psychiatric disorders are denied.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded due to his failure to appear at a scheduled hearing. The case will be returned to the Board for further action.

The veteran's claim for an increased evaluation of his service-connected bipolar disorder is being remanded due to the need for additional medical examination and compliance with VCAA notice requirements.