The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for mental illness as secondary to his service-connected left shoulder dislocation, finding that there is no evidence in the record supporting a link between his current mental illnesses and his service-connected condition.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found no etiological relationship between the Veteran's current mental disabilities and his service-connected left shoulder dislocation.
- Claimed conditions
- unspecified bipolar and related disorder, stimulant use disorder - cocaine
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 23, 2018
- Citation
- 1804401
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 1804401.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a restoration of the 40 percent disability rating for thoracolumbar spine degenerative disc disease and an initial 70 percent disability rating for unspecified bipolar and related disorder, along with a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected unspecified bipolar and related disorder alone.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for major neurocognitive disorder, unspecified bipolar and related disorder, and unspecified alcohol-related disorder due to an inadequate VA opinion.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the Veteran's claims to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors under the provisions of 38 C.F.R. § 20.802.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for a psychiatric disorder, to include bipolar disorder, due to pre-decisional errors in considering all of the Veteran's psychiatric diagnoses and failing to obtain an adequate medical opinion.
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