The Board found that the veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, specifically bipolar disorder, was aggravated by his active duty service.
The deciding factor: The July 2007 VA examiner opined that any current psychiatric disorder was at least as likely as not aggravated by the veteran's military service due to a significant change in his condition from pre-service evaluations and the typical age of onset for bipolar disorder being around age 20, which aligns with his service period.
- Claimed conditions
- anxiety and depression, bipolar disorder
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 18, 2008
- Citation
- 0813002
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 3,217 · Granted: 46% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0813002.
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.
- 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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