The veteran's PTSD is productive of significant symptoms, including intrusive thoughts, social isolation, occasional suicidal ideation, increased arousal and hypervigilance, difficulty sleeping, obsessive behavior, near continuous panic attacks, impaired impulse control, neglect of personal appearance and hygiene, inability to establish and maintain effective relationships, memory loss, occasional auditory and visual hallucinations, poor concentration, depressed mood, and anhedonia. The Board finds that the veteran's PTSD warrants a 70 percent evaluation.
The deciding factor: The veteran's symptoms more closely approximate the criteria for a 70 percent rating under the DSM-IV, including moderate to severe impairments in social, psychological, and occupational functioning, as evidenced by his GAF scores ranging from 30 to 55 during the appeal period.
- Claimed conditions
- post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 70%
- Decision date
- March 25, 2008
- Citation
- 0809803
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
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for PTSD to be readjudicated on the merits due to new and relevant evidence.
- Partly granted
The veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions were denied, except for tinnitus and bilateral hearing loss disability which were granted. The veteran was also granted service connection for hypertension.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for an evaluation in excess of 70 percent disabling for service-connected PTSD due to duty-to-assist errors.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for right hip bursitis, left knee strain, TBI, and PTSD.
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