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
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- March 13, 2003
- Citation
- 0304601
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,642 · Granted: 19% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0304601.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: 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.
- Whole decision: 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.
- Whole decision: 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.
- Whole decision: 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.
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