The Veteran's claim for service connection for a psychiatric disability other than schizoaffective disorder, to include bipolar disorder and PTSD, was denied as new and material evidence had not been submitted. The Veteran's TDIU claim was also denied.
The deciding factor: The evidence received since the December 2001 decision did not provide a current diagnosis of a separate psychiatric disability related to any incident of military service or aggravate his service-connected low back disability, and thus did not raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim.
- Claimed conditions
- bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, chronic adjustment disorder
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 9, 2009
- Citation
- 0908718
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 remands the claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder to ensure a proper examination and etiology opinion are provided.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including back pain, knee and wrist joint pains, neck pain, anxiety, depression, as further development is needed to properly adjudicate these claims.
- Granted
The Board granted a 50 percent rating for the Veteran's psychiatric disability, diagnosed as chronic adjustment disorder.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for generalized anxiety disorder and denied service connection for a lower back disorder. The claims for depression, substance abuse disorder, and a compensable initial rating for bilateral hearing loss were dismissed.
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