The Veteran's appeal is denied as his personality disorder is not a disease or injury for VA compensation purposes. His bipolar disorder has been rated at 70 percent since September 9, 2009, and the evidence does not support an increase to a higher rating.
The deciding factor: Service connection for personality disorders is not warranted due to the regulatory prohibition against compensating such conditions. The Veteran's bipolar disorder is currently evaluated as 70 percent disabling based on its severity and impact on his occupational and social functioning, but no evidence supports a higher evaluation.
- Claimed conditions
- Personality Disorder, Bipolar Disorder
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 70%
- Decision date
- September 18, 2017
- Citation
- 1740065
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 1740065.
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 PTSD with bipolar disorder has resulted in total occupational and social impairment, warranting a 100% disability rating effective August 8, 2018.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and depressive disorder, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are at least as likely as not attributable to his active duty service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection for a psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD, and for a right knee condition are remanded due to duty-to-assist errors. The AOJ must attempt to verify the claimed stressor events and provide a VA examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical evidence regarding the Veteran's PTSD and bipolar disorder, as well as a failure to provide an adequate VA examination prior to the rating decision.
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