The Board denied the veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities, finding that his combined schedular evaluation of 60 percent did not render him unemployable without considering other factors such as advancing age.
The deciding factor: The veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for TDIU as they are less than 100% disabling and do not preclude substantially gainful employment due to his service-connected conditions alone.
- Claimed conditions
- paralysis external popliteal nerve, left leg, residuals of lung injury, thigh muscle injury, right, malaria, scars
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 60%
- Decision date
- March 13, 2003
- Citation
- 0304601
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,642 · Granted: 19% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 0304601.
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 Board has granted an effective date of April 14, 1972 for the award of service connection for scars and denied a compensable disability rating.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient detail in a previous VA medical opinion regarding whether malaria or scarlet fever during service contributed to the Veteran's death. The case must be returned for further evaluation.
- Granted
The Veteran's staph infection is granted service connection. The Board has remanded the claims for bilateral feet condition, ED, and scars related to his now service-connected staph infection.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's appeal for increased ratings for compartment syndrome of the bilateral lower extremities, reduced the rating for painful scars of the bilateral lower extremities, and denied service connection for various conditions. The decision was not timely filed.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.