The Veteran's service connection for a gastrointestinal disability other than GERD and bipolar disorder with PTSD is denied. An effective date prior to April 8, 2013 for service connection of bipolar disorder with PTSD is also denied. The initial rating in excess of 50 percent for bipolar disorder with PTSD from April 8, 2013 to February 12, 2014 and a 100 percent rating starting from February 13, 2014 are granted. The Veteran's GERD and unemployability prior to February 13, 2014 claims are remanded.
The deciding factor: The Veteran did not have a current diagnosis of a gastrointestinal disability other than his service-connected GERD or a psychiatric disability that was separate from his bipolar disorder with PTSD. The effective date for service connection is April 8, 2013 as the Veteran failed to complete an appeal after the October 2006 denial.
- Claimed conditions
- Gastrointestinal disability other than GERD, Bipolar Disorder with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 8, 2019
- Citation
- 19110170
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,960 · Granted: 36% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 19110170.
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