The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date prior to January 8, 2024 for a temporary total rating for bipolar disorder is denied as there are no records showing continuous hospitalization for more than 21 days before that date.
The deciding factor: The VA treatment records show the Veteran was hospitalized beginning on January 8, 2024 for psychiatric treatment and discharged in February 2024. There were no other psychiatric hospitalizations lasting over 21 days between December 2021 and January 2024.
- Claimed conditions
- Bipolar Disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- February 23, 2026
- Citation
- A26015926
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 A26015926.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's PTSD with bipolar disorder has resulted in total occupational and social impairment, warranting a 100% disability rating effective August 8, 2018.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and depressive disorder, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are at least as likely as not attributable to his active duty service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection for a psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD, and for a right knee condition are remanded due to duty-to-assist errors. The AOJ must attempt to verify the claimed stressor events and provide a VA examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical evidence regarding the Veteran's PTSD and bipolar disorder, as well as a failure to provide an adequate VA examination prior to the rating decision.
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