The Board has determined that the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorders, including depression, schizoaffective disorder, and bipolar disorder, were not incurred in or aggravated by his military service.
The deciding factor: The VA compensation examination conducted in May 2012 indicated that the current diagnosis of bipolar-type schizoaffective disorder is a progression of the prodromal symptoms the Veteran initially experienced in service which were erroneously attributed to a personality disorder. The medical nexus opinion concluded that these disorders did not originate during his military service and are not otherwise related or attributable to his service.
- Claimed conditions
- depression, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 24, 2012
- Citation
- 1236876
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 1236876.
What this means for you
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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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining in-service psychiatric treatment records and scheduling a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of any acquired psychiatric disorder.
- Denied
The Veteran's depression was rated at 50 percent prior to July 1, 2016. The Board found that the evidence did not support a higher rating due to occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity. For TDIU, the Veteran had multiple service-connected disabilities but his education and work experience were sufficient for sedentary or light labor employment.
- Granted
The Veteran's depression was rated at 50 percent prior to September 27, 2017. From September 27, 2017, the rating for depression increased to 70 percent.
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