The Board denied the veteran's claim for an earlier effective date of September 29, 1997 for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities. The RO accepted his September 1997 claim as a TDIU claim and granted it effective from that date.
The deciding factor: The veteran did not meet the schedular requirements for a TDIU evaluation at the time of his initial claim in May 1998, but was found unemployable due to nonservice-connected factors. The Board determined that any grant of TDIU should be retroactive to September 20, 1996 when he submitted a private psychological evaluation indicating he had been unable to work since then.
- Claimed conditions
- post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), calcaneal fractures of the ankles
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 23, 2004
- Citation
- 0410507
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,977 · Granted: 27% (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 0410507.
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