The Veteran's combined disability evaluation is 70 percent, which meets the percentage requirements for a TDIU. The Veteran has been found unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation due to his service-connected disabilities.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's service-connected disabilities render him unable to obtain or maintain substantially gainful employment.
- Claimed conditions
- mood disorder with depressive features, degenerative changes of the lumbar spine at the levels of L4-L5 and L5-S1, status post excision of herniated nucleus pulposus, chondromalacia patella of the left knee, chondromalacia patella of the right knee, partial complex and secondary generalized seizure disorder, r radiculopathy of the left lower extremity, r radiculopathy of the right lower extremity
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 70%
- Decision date
- November 19, 2010
- Citation
- 1043512
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 1043512.
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 Board granted an effective date of June 27, 2016, for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability and special monthly compensation.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for tinnitus and an increased initial rating of 30 percent for gastroesophageal reflux disease with eosinophilic esophagitis, while denying increased ratings for chondromalacia patella of the left and right knees, a compensable rating for three surgical scars on the left lower extremity, major depressive disorder with anxious distress, and headaches. The Board also remanded several claims for further development.
- Denied
The Board denied increased ratings for the Veteran's service-connected conditions, including painful scars of the right knee, left foot plantar fasciitis, residuals of fracture of the left talus, and adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood. The claims were denied as the evidence did not support higher ratings or an earlier effective date.
- Partly granted
The Veteran was granted an initial 70 percent disability rating for a mood disorder with depressive features from June 22, 2000 until January 1, 2003 and a 100 percent rating from January 1, 2003 until January 25, 2012. The claim for an increased rating was denied for the period starting August 5, 2020.
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