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Denied

The veteran's service-connected PTSD was manifested by difficulty in understanding complex commands, impairment of short-term memory, disturbances of motivation and mood, difficulty in establishing and maintaining effective work relationships, deep depression, fixation on memories of Vietnam, nightmares twice per month, moderate generalized paranoia, and being easily startled causing irritability and isolation. The VA determined that the veteran's PTSD did not warrant a rating higher than 50 percent.

The deciding factor: The symptoms described by the veteran were consistent with a 50 percent evaluation under Diagnostic Code 9411 for PTSD.

Claimed conditions
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
How they argued it
Direct service connection
Exposure basis
None
Rating assigned
50%
Decision date
July 19, 2004
Citation
0419329

Veterans Law Judge

JAMES L. MARCH

Decisions by this judge: 2,776 · Granted: 24% (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 0419329.

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