The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including paranoid schizophrenia and a hearing loss condition, did not render him unemployable prior to May 5, 2005. The Board found that the disability alone was not severe enough to prevent substantial gainful employment.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not establish that the Veteran’s service-connected conditions resulted in an inability to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation due to their severity or nature.
- Claimed conditions
- paranoid schizophrenia, status post separation of the left shoulder, hearing loss on the left with residual of ossicles injury
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- July 31, 2009
- Citation
- 0928782
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 0928782.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal has been dismissed as the appellant, through his representative, withdrew the appeal prior to a decision being made.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for service connection of paranoid schizophrenia is denied. The Board has also remanded the case to obtain a VA examination regarding his current disability rating for paranoid schizophrenia.
- Denied
The Veteran's sole service-connected condition, paranoid schizophrenia, is rated at 100% disabling. The Board denied Special Monthly Compensation (SMC) based on housebound due to the lack of additional service-connected disabilities independently ratable at 60%, and because the Veteran's substantial confinement was not solely attributable to his service-connected disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided that the Veteran's claim for service connection for a psychiatric disorder, to include paranoid schizophrenia and PTSD, must be remanded due to a duty to assist error. The Veteran will need to provide additional information about his in-service stressor and VA records related to Social Security disability benefits.
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