The Board has determined that the Veteran's variously diagnosed psychiatric disability, including schizoaffective disorder and bipolar disorder, is not related to his service. The evidence does not support a finding of service connection for these conditions.
The deciding factor: The March 2014 VA examiner concluded that the Veteran's schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type is less likely than not related to his service due to the lack of documented psychiatric problems during service and the long interval between service and initial post-service treatment.
- Claimed conditions
- schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 8, 2014
- Citation
- 1454013
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 1454013.
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 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.
- 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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's service connection claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, schizoaffective disorder, and neurocognitive disorder is remanded due to a failure to provide a VA examination addressing whether the pre-existing psychiatric disorder was aggravated during service.
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