The Veteran's petition to reopen his previously denied claim for service connection for a nervous disorder, now characterized as an acquired psychiatric disorder, is granted. The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the onset and relationship of any current psychiatric disorders to military service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not provide sufficient rationale in their opinions regarding whether the Veteran's psychiatric conditions preexisted his service or were aggravated by it.
- Claimed conditions
- acquired psychiatric disorder, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 11, 2019
- Citation
- 19127654
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The claim for an earlier effective date for service connection for major depressive disorder is dismissed as moot because the earliest effective date was granted during the pendency of this appeal.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for multiple conditions, including an acquired psychiatric disorder, sleep apnea, hypertension, and various musculoskeletal and skin disabilities.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for right and left hip degenerative arthritis as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected right ankle and knee conditions, and major depressive disorder as secondary to his service-connected knee and ankle conditions. The Board also granted a 10 percent rating for allergic rhinitis.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of December 12, 2023, for a 50 percent evaluation of bipolar disorder and remanded the other issues for further development.
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