The Board dismissed the appeal for service connection of bipolar disorder. The claim to reopen for an earlier effective date for schizophrenia was granted, but the request for an earlier effective date for schizophrenia is denied. An effective date of May 4, 2009, for claw feet with osteoporosis is granted.
The deciding factor: The Board found that new and material evidence had been submitted to reopen the claim for an earlier effective date for schizophrenia, but did not find CUE in the April 1998 decision denying such a request. The Veteran's service-connected psychiatric disability was recharacterized as including bipolar disorder, which led to the dismissal of the appeal.
- Claimed conditions
- bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, claw feet with osteoporosis
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- May 22, 2019
- Citation
- 19139963
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 19139963.
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- 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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for an acquired mental health condition, to include major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder, based on new evidence.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for bipolar disorder and denied increased ratings for the lumbar disability, left and right sciatica, and chronic sinusitis. However, it granted an increased rating of 40 percent from March 7, 2022, for left and right sciatic radiculopathy and restored a 30 percent rating for chronic sinusitis.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, diagnosed alternatively as schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and bipolar disorder, due to an inadequate VA examiner's opinion and a failure to fulfill the duty to assist in obtaining relevant medical records.
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