The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a psychiatric disorder, to include bipolar disorder, as there was no evidence of a mental health disorder during or related to active service.
The deciding factor: The VA medical examiner found that the Veteran's psychiatric disorder and bipolar disorder were not incurred in or otherwise related to service due to the absence of any mental health issues during military service and the presence of substance abuse prior to enlistment.
- Claimed conditions
- psychiatric disorder, bipolar disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 1, 2025
- Citation
- 25004376
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection of a psychiatric disability to correct an error in not securing an adequate medical opinion.
- 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.
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