The Board denied the veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for bipolar disorder, finding that the March 1995 decision denying service connection was final and that the April 3, 1998 reopened claim resulted in a valid grant of service connection with an effective date of April 3, 1998.
The deciding factor: The Board determined that the veteran's original claim for service connection had been withdrawn by her July 1992 letter and that the March 1995 denial was based on a de novo review. The April 3, 1998 reopened claim resulted in a valid grant of service connection with an effective date of April 3, 1998.
- Claimed conditions
- bipolar disorder
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 26, 2002
- Citation
- 0210518
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 0210518.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorders, including bipolar disorder and PTSD. The Veteran will be asked to provide additional medical records and undergo a VA examination.
- Granted
The Veteran's bipolar disorder was rated at 50% and then reduced to 30%. The Board has now granted a 70% rating effective November 23, 2021, based on the improvement in her symptoms.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have resulted in loss of use of both feet, which qualifies her for an allowance for an automobile and adaptive equipment.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an effective date prior to March 2, 2015, for TDIU was denied as the evidence did not show actual worsening within one year prior to his March 2, 2015, claim.
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