The Veteran's service-connected psychophysiological musculoskeletal disorder is not productive of occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity due to such symptoms as: flattened affect; circumstantial, circumlocutory, or stereotyped speech; panic attacks more than once a week; difficulty in understanding complex commands; impairment of short- and long-term memory (e.g., retention of only highly learned material, forgetting to complete tasks); impaired judgment; impaired abstract thinking; disturbances of motivation and mood; difficulty in establishing and maintaining effective work and social relationships. The Veteran's service-connected headaches are not productive of occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity.
The deciding factor: The Veteran’s psychophysiological musculoskeletal disorder does not meet the criteria for a higher evaluation under Diagnostic Code 9423, as it is not productive of occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity due to symptoms such as flattened affect, circumstantial or stereotyped speech, panic attacks more than once a week, difficulty in understanding complex commands, impairment of short- and long-term memory, impaired judgment, impaired abstract thinking, disturbances of motivation and mood, and difficulty in establishing and maintaining effective work and social relationships.
- Claimed conditions
- psychophysiological musculoskeletal disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 10, 2010
- Citation
- 1029825
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 1029825.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's lumbar spine disorder is not manifested by unfavorable ankylosis of the entire thoracolumbar spine from January 15, 2003. Therefore, a rating in excess of 40 percent for service-connected lumbosacral strain with psychophysiological musculoskeletal disorder has not been met.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development, including review of the March 2004 rating decision and retrieval of VA outpatient and inpatient treatment records from January 2013 to present.
- Granted
The veteran's increased evaluations for his psychophysiological musculoskeletal disorder and deformity at D12 to L1 have been granted, with the current ratings of 60 percent and 20 percent respectively.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for a higher disability rating and TDIU due to his service-connected psychophysiological musculoskeletal and gastrointestinal disorders. The current evaluation of 30 percent is deemed appropriate based on the severity of symptoms.
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