The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for service connection of bipolar disorder with depression, finding that no legal merit exists as his original claim was not timely appealed.
The deciding factor: The Veteran did not file a timely Notice of Disagreement (NOD) to the September 1999 rating decision denying service connection for depression, and thus the September 1999 decision is final. The petition to reopen filed on January 24, 2005, which led to the February 2010 Board decision granting service connection, cannot be considered an effective date as it was not received within one year of the original denial.
- Claimed conditions
- bipolar disorder with depression
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 5, 2015
- Citation
- 1519143
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 1519143.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including bipolar disorder with depression, is found to be related to his military service and the claim for service connection is granted.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for bipolar disorder with depression, finding that the Veteran's symptoms manifested to a compensable degree within one year of his discharge from active duty.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include bipolar disorder with depression, and a migraine disability due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate medical opinions and a need for further examination. The appeal is not about service connection, but rather the cause of death.
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