The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate examination and need for an addendum opinion regarding the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including bipolar disorder.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner’s opinion is internally contradictory and based on an inaccurate factual premise, requiring an addendum opinion.
- Claimed conditions
- bipolar I disorder
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 6, 2020
- Citation
- 20071939
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,456 · Granted: 23% (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 20071939.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and bipolar I disorder, is denied as there is no evidence connecting these conditions to his military service.
- Dismissed
The appeal for an increased evaluation in excess of 70 percent for service-connected PTSD, bipolar I disorder, alcohol use disorder, and traumatic brain injury with vertigo, diplopia, and convergence insufficiency is dismissed due to a procedural defect.
- Granted
The Veteran's bipolar I disorder and alcohol use disorder are granted as service connected due to MST. PTSD is denied.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bipolar I disorder, finding that the condition preexisted the Veteran's military service and was not aggravated by it.
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