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Granted

The veteran's PTSD is rated at 50 percent, the highest initial rating available. Service connection for a back disorder and residuals of an injury to the left pectoralis are granted, while service connection for arthritis remains pending.

The deciding factor: PTSD symptoms include flattened affect, panic attacks more than once a week, difficulty understanding complex commands, impairment of short- and long-term memory, impaired judgment, and disturbances of motivation and mood. These symptoms meet the criteria for a 50 percent rating under Diagnostic Code 9411.

Claimed conditions
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
How they argued it
Direct service connection
Exposure basis
None
Rating assigned
50%
Decision date
April 26, 2006
Citation
0611991

Veterans Law Judge

JOY A. MCDONALD

Decisions by this judge: 1,293 · Granted: 17% (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 0611991.

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

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