The Board has granted service connection for bipolar disorder as secondary to the veteran's service-connected left shoulder disorder. Service connection for impairment of the left wrist and hand is denied, as there is no evidence linking this condition to his service-connected disabilities. The evaluation for limited supination of the left elbow remains at zero percent.
The deciding factor: The Board found that bipolar disorder was secondary to the veteran's service-connected left shoulder disorder but denied service connection for impairment of the left wrist and hand due to lack of medical evidence connecting it to any service-connected condition.
- Claimed conditions
- bipolar disorder, impairment of the left wrist and hand, limited supination of the left elbow
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 0%
- Decision date
- January 30, 2003
- Citation
- 0301796
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 0301796.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of December 12, 2023, for a 50 percent evaluation of bipolar disorder and remanded the other issues for further development.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for an acquired mental health condition, to include major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder, based on new evidence.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for bipolar disorder and denied increased ratings for the lumbar disability, left and right sciatica, and chronic sinusitis. However, it granted an increased rating of 40 percent from March 7, 2022, for left and right sciatic radiculopathy and restored a 30 percent rating for chronic sinusitis.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, diagnosed alternatively as schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and bipolar disorder, due to an inadequate VA examiner's opinion and a failure to fulfill the duty to assist in obtaining relevant medical records.
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