Bipolar disorder is a compensable condition by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for military veterans who suffer from it because of a military connection. The VA rates bipolar disorder between 0% and 100%, depending on the severity.
Here, we explain what bipolar disorder is, how military service can cause it, how to file a claim with the VA for disability benefits connected to bipolar disorder, and the types of VA disability benefits that are available to veterans diagnosed with bipolar disorder from their time in the military.
If you want to file a claim for VA benefits for bipolar disorder or need to appeal a denied claim for benefits, call Stone Rose Law at (480) 498-8998 or contact us online. We will connect you with an experienced VA benefits attorney for a free case evaluation.
The VA rates bipolar disorder at one of six levels: 0%, 10%, 30%, 50%, 70%, and 100%. If the VA approves your benefits claim, the disability rating it will assign you will depend on the frequency, severity, and duration of your psychiatric symptoms, the length of remissions, and your ability to adjust during periods of remission.
The VA must base its evaluation on all evidence relevant to your occupational and social impairment and the VA examiner’s assessment from a C&P exam. The VA also considers the extent of your social impairment but does not base its disability rating only on social impairment.
At this rating level, your bipolar disorder condition does not interfere with your occupational and social functioning, and you can maintain routine behavior. You do not require continuous medication to treat your symptoms, which can be controlled without a structured treatment plan.
A 0% disability rating does not qualify you for monthly compensation benefits, but it provides access to other VA disability benefits, including VA health care benefits.
At this level, you may be experiencing occasional mild depression or anxiety, especially when you are under high stress. These transient symptoms are usually short in duration and do not significantly affect your work or your social functions. Symptoms can be controlled by continuous medication.
At this rating level, you may be experiencing symptoms of sadness, anxiety, mistrust toward or suspicion about others, chronic sleep impairment, mild memory loss, anxiety, and occasional panic attacks. You can still manage to perform occupational tasks but may be having trouble with your social relationships.
Symptoms at this level include trouble understanding complex instructions or directions, impaired short and long-term memory, trouble communicating directly with others, impaired judgment, difficulty thinking in abstract terms, difficulty expressing emotions (emotional detachment or “flattened affect”), mood disorders, and weekly panic attacks.
These symptoms interfere with your work productivity and social relationships, leading to conflicts with others and social isolation.
At this level of bipolar disorder, your debilitating symptoms are making it hard for you to work or maintain social relationships.
These symptoms can include ritualistic obsessions, inability to govern impulses, trouble dealing with stressful situations, chronically depressed mood, continuous panic attacks, spatial disorientation, and neglect of personal appearance and personal hygiene. You may even be experiencing suicidal ideation.
This is the most commonly assigned disability rating for bipolar disorder.
As the rating level suggests, this is total disability based on bipolar disorder that makes it impossible to work effectively or to maintain relationships.
Symptoms include gross impairment in thinking and communicating, persistent delusions or hallucinations, grossly inappropriate behaviors, poor personal hygiene and self-care, time and spatial disorientation, and severe memory loss (including remembering the names of others or even your own name).
At this level, a person can become a persistent danger of self-harm and harm to others.
It is possible to have multiple symptoms in multiple rating levels. When this happens, the VA will look for the level where the preponderance of symptoms occur. For example, if you have two symptoms at the 30% disability rating level and three at the 50% level, then the VA is likely to assign the 50% disability rating for bipolar disorder and vice-versa.
Even if a bipolar disorder rating is not 100%, it may still be possible to qualify for total VA disability benefits if the condition makes it hard to obtain or keep substantially gainful employment. This is referred to as Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU).
You can qualify for TDIU based on “schedular” or “extra-schedular” criteria.
Two ways exist to qualify for schedular TDIU. Either your bipolar VA rating is 70% by itself and you cannot be substantially gainfully employed, or it is part of a combined VA disability rating of at least 70% and one of the individual disability ratings is at least 40%.
To see how the VA combined disability rating calculation works, see our VA Disability Calculator page.
In some cases, even if you cannot qualify for TDIU based on the schedular method, the VA may still give you the TDIU if, based on other considerations, you cannot be substantially gainfully employed.
Because the VA does not consider bipolar disorder to be a presumptive mental condition, to establish a claim for benefits you must show the VA that a service connection exists. You can do this in different ways.
To prove a service-connected bipolar disorder, you will need to demonstrate the following:
To show that a medical nexus exists, you will need to include documentary evidence with your benefits claim. Examples of such evidence include a “nexus letter” that your physician or treating mental health professional prepares, records of treatment during service, your civilian medical diagnosis and treatment records, and written statements from people like former service comrades, family members, coworkers, and friends who have witnessed your bipolar disorder condition and its symptoms.
Bipolar disorder does not always start when you are in the military. If you had a mild bipolar disorder when you joined the military, and it became worse during your time in service, then you can establish a service connection by showing that a medical nexus exists between the worsening of the condition and your military service.
You can, in some cases, show that another VA-recognized disability led to the onset of bipolar disorder.
To qualify for a secondary disability rating for bipolar disorder, you will need to prove that:
Once you file your bipolar disorder benefits claim with the VA, the VA may schedule you for a compensation and pension exam (C&P exam). The purpose of this exam is to give the VA the opportunity to gather more information to assess your claim and your VA disability rating if it is approved.
During a C&P exam, a VA examiner will review your medical history and medical records, ask you questions about your symptoms, and put you through some behavioral observations and a mental health evaluation.
The examiner will use the VA Disability Benefits Questionnaire for Mental Disorders (other than PTSD and eating disorders) during the C&P exam to establish diagnostic criteria. Your own treating health professional may also prepare such a form ahead of the exam.
If the VA schedules you for a C&P exam, it is important that you make your appointment. The VA places considerable importance on the results of C&P examinations, and missing your appointment can delay the processing of your claim or lead to a claim denial.
The VA does not always approve benefits claims on the first application. Claim denials can arise for many reasons, including insufficient supporting evidence, mistakes in completing the application, or the VA itself can make a mistake in assessing your claim.
Fortunately, if your claim is denied, you have multiple options to overcome the denial. This can be as simple as preparing a supplemental claim with new and relevant evidence, requesting a re-examination of your claim by another examiner, or a formal appeal which can include a hearing before a VA law judge.
Bipolar disorder is not always a static condition; it can become worse over time. If this happens, and you already have a VA rating for bipolar disorder, then you can request an increased disability rating. This will usually require a new C&P exam.
Bipolar disorder is a mental health condition that manifests through mood swings that can range from extreme highs like mania or extreme lows like depression (also known as “manic depression”). These symptoms can lead to additional consequences like sleep loss, low energy levels, problems with judgment, and the ability to think clearly.
Bipolar disorder symptoms can happen occasionally or several times in a year. These symptoms can have a significant negative impact on your ability to work, harm your professional and family relationships, and keep you from being able to participate in ordinary day-to-day activities.
Bipolar disorder is an overarching term that includes different types of disorders. These include:
Cyclothymic Disorder: a chronic mental health disorder that can contribute to hypomania and severe depression.
Bipolar disorder can have any of several causes.
As we mentioned above, the main symptoms of bipolar disorder are mood swings that can be manic or depressive, mild or pronounced, and which can happen rarely or frequently. Within these broader symptoms, bipolar disorder can show itself in the following specific ways.
Bipolar disorder and PTSD are separate mental health conditions that are both compensable VA disabilities. Bipolar disorder and PTSD share some symptoms, including depression, irritability, and panic attacks. Symptoms do not include manic episodes, which are not found in PTSD cases.
We treat PTSD separately on our website.
At Stone Rose Law, we are board-certified VA claims lawyers. We provide highly professional legal representation to disabled veterans, helping them through the VA process to receive all the VA disability compensation they are entitled to.
A Stone Rose disability lawyer can help you prepare your bipolar disorder disability claim, monitor your claim status, and consult with you before disability examinations.
If the VA denies your original claim, our VA benefits law firm will assign a VA disability appeals lawyer to help you pursue a VA appeal with the Board of Veterans Appeals while providing free representation on a contingency fee basis.To learn more about how one of our VA disability lawyers can help you with your VA bipolar disorder claim or appeal, request a free assistance consultation by calling (480) 498-8998 or using our contact form.
