For the period prior to January 12, 2007, the Veteran's PTSD was productive of symptoms including sleeplessness, anger, social isolation, nightmares at least five times per week, multiple panic attacks weekly, impaired memory, and flashbacks. However, these symptoms did not meet the criteria for a 50 percent rating due to lack of flattened affect, circumstantial or stereotyped speech, difficulty in understanding complex commands, or impaired judgment and abstract thinking.,From January 12, 2007, while the Veteran's PTSD worsened with frequent thoughts of suicide, at no time did it meet the criteria for a 70 percent rating due to lack of suicidal ideation, obsessional rituals, speech intermittently illogical or irrelevant, spatial disorientation, neglect of personal appearance and hygiene, gross impairment in thought processes, persistent delusions or hallucinations, grossly inappropriate behavior, persistent danger of hurting self or others, inability to perform activities of daily living, disorientation to time or place, memory loss for names of close relatives, own occupation, or own name.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's PTSD symptoms prior to January 12, 2007 did not meet the criteria for a 50 percent rating due to lack of certain specific symptoms.,From January 12, 2007, the Veteran's PTSD did not meet the criteria for a 70 percent rating due to lack of certain specific symptoms.
- Claimed conditions
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 30%
- Decision date
- September 29, 2009
- Citation
- 0937011
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 0937011.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD is granted as the evidence shows a current diagnosis of PTSD, an in-service stressor, and a medical link between the two.
- Denied
The Veteran's PTSD has been rated at 50% since March 23, 2004. The Board found that a higher rating is not warranted prior to February 15, 2005 due to the severity of his symptoms and their impact on his social and occupational functioning.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD and any acquired psychiatric disorder, finding that there was no evidence to support a link between his current mental health conditions and his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's PTSD resulted in occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity, warranting a 70% disability rating. The Veteran also met the criteria for a TDIU due to his service-connected disabilities preventing him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation.
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