The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim for service connection for a bilateral eye disability and granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder (bipolar disorder). The decision is based on new evidence that raises a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claims.
The deciding factor: New evidence, including a private physician's letter from November 1979, raised the possibility that the Veteran's current vision problems may have existed prior to service or manifested while on active duty.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Eye Disability, Acquired Psychiatric Disorder (bipolar disorder)
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 5, 2012
- Citation
- 1208265
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 1208265.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss disability is rated as non-compensable.,His acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and unspecified depressive disorder with anxious distress, is rated at 50 percent.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a need for a medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's bilateral eye disability is related to in-service toxic exposure risk activities other than herbicide exposure.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and a bilateral eye disability, both of which are found to be proximately due to the Veteran's service-connected psychiatric disorder.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various disabilities and denied an initial rating in excess of 30 percent for PTSD with alcohol use disorder.
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