The Board found that the appellant's bipolar disorder existed prior to service and did not chronically increase in severity during or as a result of service. Therefore, it was denied.
The deciding factor: The evidence showed that the appellant had been hospitalized for psychiatric issues before entering service, and her current condition could have developed independently of military service.
- Claimed conditions
- bipolar disorder with mania and psychosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- February 8, 2005
- Citation
- 0503199
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,710 · Granted: 15% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 0503199.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The appeal is remanded for additional development, including obtaining a complete copy of the veteran's Social Security Administration disability determination and associated medical records, as well as scheduling a VA examination to determine if there is at least a 50 percent probability or greater that the veteran's bipolar disorder with mania and psychosis existed prior to service or was incurred in or aggravated by active service.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board found that the appellant's bipolar disorder with mania and psychosis did not exist prior to service, and thus could not be granted as service-connected.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
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