The veteran's disabilities, including chronic bronchitis and bipolar disorder, do not meet the criteria for a permanent and total disability rating for pension purposes.
The deciding factor: The combined evaluation of the veteran's disabilities is 20 percent, which does not meet the requirement of at least 70 percent with one disability rated at least 40 percent under the new schedular criteria effective October 7, 1996.
- Claimed conditions
- Chronic Bronchitis, Bipolar Disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- January 28, 2000
- Citation
- 0002351
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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0002351.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's PTSD with bipolar disorder has resulted in total occupational and social impairment, warranting a 100% disability rating effective August 8, 2018.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection for a psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD, and for a right knee condition are remanded due to duty-to-assist errors. The AOJ must attempt to verify the claimed stressor events and provide a VA examination.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and depressive disorder, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are at least as likely as not attributable to his active duty service.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for separate ratings for chronic bronchitis and obstructive sleep apnea is denied as the disabilities are rated under different diagnostic codes and cannot be combined.
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