The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, while significant, do not render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's combined disability rating is 90%, which meets the percentage requirement for TDIU on a schedular basis. However, his employment difficulties are attributed to non-service-connected factors and other personal circumstances.
- Claimed conditions
- sleep apnea, degenerative disease of the right shoulder, degenerative disease of the left shoulder, left hip spur, right hip spur, right elbow spur, left elbow spur, left knee arthralgia, bilateral temporomandibular articulation joint, right knee arthralgia, bilateral De Quervain's tendinitis and hand arthralgia with a fracture of the left third finger, lumbar strain, tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 90%
- Decision date
- May 18, 2010
- Citation
- 1018359
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 1018359.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
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 a direct service connection opinion and an adequate secondary service connection aggravation opinion.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for asthma and remanded claims for insomnia and sleep apnea. Other conditions were denied.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeals for service connection for bilateral pes planus, obstructive sleep apnea, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including sinusitis, elbows condition, cervical condition, erectile dysfunction, kidney condition, sleep apnea, wrists condition, asthma, shoulders condition, ankles condition, eye condition (bilateral dry macular degeneration), peripheral vascular disease (heart condition), and rhinitis.
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