38 U.S.C. § 1702

Presumptions: psychosis after service in World War II and following periods of war; mental illness after service in the Persian Gulf War

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(a)Psychosis.—For the purposes of this chapter, any veteran of World War II, the Korean conflict, the Vietnam era, or the Persian Gulf War who developed an active psychosis (1) within two years after discharge or release from the active military, naval, or air service, and (2) before July 26, 1949, in the case of a veteran of World War II, before February 1, 1957, in the case of a veteran of the Korean conflict, before May 8, 1977, in the case of a Vietnam era veteran, or before the end of the two-year period beginning on the last day of the Persian Gulf War, in the case of a veteran of the Persian Gulf War, shall be deemed to have incurred such disability in the active military, naval, or air service.(b)Mental Illness.—For purposes of this chapter, any veteran of the Persian Gulf War who develops an active mental illness (other than psychosis) shall be deemed to have incurred such disability in the active military, naval, or air service if such veteran develops such disability—(1) within two years after discharge or release from the active military, naval, or air service; and(2) before the end of the two-year period beginning on the last day of the Persian Gulf War.(Pub. L. 85–857, Sept. 2, 1958, 72 Stat. 1141, § 602; Pub. L. 90–77, title II, § 203(a), Aug. 31, 1967, 81 Stat. 183; Pub. L. 97–295, § 4(16), Oct. 12, 1982, 96 Stat. 1306; Pub. L. 99–576, title VII, § 701(20), Oct. 28, 1986, 100 Stat. 3292; Pub. L. 102–25, title III, § 334(b), Apr. 6, 1991, 105 Stat. 88; renumbered § 1702, Pub. L. 102–83, § 5(a), Aug. 6, 1991, 105 Stat. 406; Pub. L. 110–181, div. A, title XVII, § 1708(a)(1), (2), Jan. 28, 2008, 122 Stat. 493, 494.)Editorial NotesAmendments

2008—Pub. L. 110–181, § 1708(a)(2), substituted “Presumptions: psychosis after service in World War II and following periods of war; mental illness after service in the Persian Gulf War” for “Presumption relating to psychosis” in section catchline.

Subsecs. (a), (b). Pub. L. 110–181, § 1708(a)(1), designated existing text as subsec. (a), inserted heading, and added subsec. (b).

1991—Pub. L. 102–83 renumbered section 602 of this title as this section.

Pub. L. 102–25 substituted “the Vietnam era, or the Persian Gulf War” for “or the Vietnam era”, struck out “or” before “before May 8, 1977”, and inserted “or before the end of the two-year period beginning on the last day of the Persian Gulf War, in the case of a veteran of the Persian Gulf War,” after “Vietnam era veterans,”.

1986—Pub. L. 99–576 struck out “his” before “discharge”.

1982—Pub. L. 97–295 substituted “before February 1, 1957, in the case of a veteran of the Korean conflict, or before May 8, 1977,” for “or February 1, 1957, in the case of a veteran of the Korean conflict, or before the expiration of two years following termination of the Vietnam era”.

1967—Pub. L. 90–77 made the presumption relating to psychosis applicable to any veteran of the Vietnam era who developed an active psychosis within two years after his discharge from active service and before the expiration of two years following termination of the Vietnam era.

Statutory Notes and Related SubsidiariesEffective Date of 1967 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 90–77 effective first day of first calendar month which begins more than ten days after Aug. 31, 1967, see section 405 of Pub. L. 90–77, set out as a note under section 101 of this title.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 10 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1991–2021 · leading case: Soyini v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 540 (Vet. App. 1991).

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Soyini v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 540 (Vet. App. 1991). · cites it 3× “The rating board granted service connection under 38 U.S.C. § 1702 (formerly § 602) for treatment purposes only.”

Ford v. Gober, 10 Vet. App. 531 (Vet. App. 1997). · cites it 3× “On remand, the veteran also requested that his ease be considered under 38 U.S.C. § 1702 (R. at 429), which supplies a presumption of service incurrence, for the purposes of medical treatment, for, inter alia, a Korean conflict veteran whose psychosis manifests prior to February…”

Caldwell v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 466 (Vet. App. 1991). “In August 1986, appellant was awarded service connection for “active psychosis” for the purpose of obtaining treatment at a VA facility under 38 U.S.C. § 1702 (formerly § 602). Under this provision, a veteran of World War II, the Korean War, or the Vietnam era, is entitled to…”

12-20 999 (Board of Vet. App. 2018). · cites it 6× “Entitlement to service connection for the purpose of establishing eligibility for treatment of a psychosis under 38 U.S.C. § 1702 . 3. Entitlement to an increased rating in excess of 20 percent for lumbar paravertebral myositis, posttraumatic.”

11-23 939 (Board of Vet. App. 2021). · cites it 6× “11-23 939 DATE: August 13, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for a psychiatric disability, for treatment purposes only, pursuant to 38 U.S.C. § 1702 is dismissed. REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for sleep apnea is remanded.”

13-01 25 (Board of Vet. App. 2016). · cites it 3× “This appeal to the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) arose from a July 2012 rating decision in which the RO denied service connection for mental stress due to dental trauma and military duties, to include entitlement to healthcare under 38 U.S.C. § 1702 . The Veteran filed a…”

10-19 236 (Board of Vet. App. 2016). “109 and 38 U.S.C.A. § 1702 (b) , any veteran of the Persian Gulf War who develops an active mental illness (other than psychosis) shall be deemed to have incurred such disability in the active military, naval or air service if the disability is developed within two years after…”

13-20 476 (Board of Vet. App. 2016). “38 U.S.C.A. § 1702 (West 2015); 38 C.F.R.”

07-01 524 (Board of Vet. App. 2015). “[Entitlement to service connection for psychosis for the purpose of establishing eligibility for treatment pursuant to the provisions of 38 U.S.C.A. § 1702 (West 2014) is the subject of a separate decision.”

Oredson v. Brown, 4 Vet. App. 450 (Vet. App. 1993). “at 111-12; see 38 U.S.C.A. § 1702 (West 1991) (treatment-purposes-only service connection for active psychosis manifest within two years after separation from service).”

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.