The Veteran's appeal for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, including schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, depressive disorder and mood disorder, has been dismissed due to the death of the Veteran.
The deciding factor: The Veteran died during the pendency of the appeal, thus losing jurisdiction over the merits of the claim.
- Claimed conditions
- schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, depressive disorder, mood disorder
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 17, 2020
- Citation
- 20073546
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A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot.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.
- Granted
The Board granted a disability rating of 50 percent for the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, characterized as depressive disorder, effective May 1, 2017.
- 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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include major depressive disorder, mood disorder, and unspecified depressive disorder due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for an acquired mental health condition, to include major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder, based on new evidence.
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.