The Board found that the appellant's discharge from service was due to willful and persistent misconduct, not insanity. Therefore, her character of discharge bars her from receiving VA benefits.
The deciding factor: The Board determined that the appellant engaged in a pattern of serious misconduct during service which interfered with her military duty, leading to her discharge under other than honorable conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- Psychotic Disorder Not Otherwise Specified
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- March 7, 2019
- Citation
- 19116291
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,036 · Granted: 27% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 19116291.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including his service-connected schizophrenia, has been found to warrant total occupational and social impairment due to symptoms such as gross impairment in thought processes or communication; persistent delusions or hallucinations; grossly inappropriate behavior; persistent danger of hurting self or others; intermittent inability to perform activities of daily living (including maintenance of minimal personal hygiene); disorientation to time or place; memory loss for names of close relatives, own occupation, or own name.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for further development, including a VA psychiatric examination to determine if the veteran's current psychiatric conditions are related to her service and whether any pre-existing condition was aggravated by service.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete records and for further development, including obtaining SSA disability benefits records and VR & C files. The veteran's service-connected disabilities include PTSD, which was granted in February 1996, and other conditions such as pedophilia, major depressive disorder, paranoid personality disorder, adjustment disorder with depressed mood, schizotypal personality disorder, psychotic disorder not otherwise specified, schizophrenia, and dysthymia.
- Whole decision: Denied
The VA denied the veteran's request for a rating in excess of 50 percent for his service-connected psychotic disorder and also denied TDIU benefits, finding that the evidence did not warrant such ratings.
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