The veteran's combined disability rating is 70 percent effective March 1997, and he is entitled to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
The deciding factor: The VA medical advisory opinion rendered the veteran unable to follow substantial gainful occupation due to his service connected disabilities, including the June 2001 VA medical advisory opinion which noted that the veteran's physical disabilities prevented his success as a letter carrier and his severe interpersonal difficulties due to PTSD prevented him from continuing his employment as a prison guard.
- Claimed conditions
- post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), residuals of injury to the right upper extremity involving muscle groups III and IV, cervical radiculopathy of the right arm, hand and fingers, Horner's syndrome involving the right side of the face and eye
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 70%
- Decision date
- October 1, 2001
- Citation
- 0123869
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 0123869.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected PTSD with MDD is found to be the cause of his sleep apnea, and he has been granted secondary service connection for this condition.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the appeals for service connection for erectile dysfunction, cervical spine condition, OSA, anxiety disorder, PTSD, and depression disorder as they were previously denied by prior decisions that have not been vacated or remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for a neck disorder, hair loss, PTSD, bilateral foot disorder, bilateral arm numbness, and restless body syndrome due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to service-connected disabilities, finding that the evidence did not support a conclusion that his service-connected conditions prevented him from securing or following substantially gainful employment.
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