The Veteran's service connection claim for an acquired psychiatric disability was granted, and he is now receiving a 70% rating. The issue of reasonableness of attorney fees from past-due benefits awarded in the May 2019 Rating Decision is remanded.
The deciding factor: The Veteran raised concerns about the reasonableness of the fee award to his former attorney.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired psychiatric disability (bipolar disorder)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 70%
- Decision date
- March 24, 2026
- Citation
- A26025999
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 A26025999.
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 Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability (bipolar disorder) and alcohol abuse, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between these conditions and his military service.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for headaches but reopened the claim of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability (bipolar disorder). The Veteran's current psychiatric disability is related to his service, and he has a current headache condition. However, there is no medical evidence linking the current headache condition directly to service.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the veteran's bipolar disorder, an acquired psychiatric disability, had its onset during his active service and grants service connection for this condition.
- 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.
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