The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for PTSD with bipolar disorder is being remanded due to the need for updated VA and/or private treatment records, as well as a new VA psychiatric examination.
The deciding factor: The Veteran may have experienced worsening symptoms that require further evaluation.
- Claimed conditions
- Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with bipolar disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 8, 2020
- Citation
- 20032649
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 20032649.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
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 initial 100 percent rating for the service-connected psychiatric disorder, granted service connection for TBI as secondary to the psychiatric disorder, and granted special monthly compensation at the housebound rate. The claim for a total disability rating for individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities was dismissed.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected PTSD with bipolar disorder contributed to his death due to a cervical spine fracture and blunt impact injuries of the head. The Board found that this condition caused impaired judgment and decision-making, which substantially or materially contributed to his cause of death.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
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