The Veteran's anxiety disorder has not been productive of more than occupational and social impact with reduced reliability and productivity due to such symptoms as impairment of short-term memory; disturbances of motivation and mood; difficulty in establishing and maintaining social relationships; slow motor skills; difficulty in adapting to stressful circumstances; sleep impairment; and anxiety. The current rating of 50% is therefore appropriate.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's GAF scores have been consistently within the range for a 50% disability rating, indicating occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity due to symptoms such as flattened affect, circumstantial speech, difficulty understanding complex commands, impaired judgment, and disturbances of motivation and mood.
- Claimed conditions
- Anxiety Disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- January 23, 2017
- Citation
- 1701509
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 1701509.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's TDIU claim is granted, and service connection for IBS as secondary to anxiety disorder is granted. Service connection for non-Hodgkin lymphoma is denied due to lack of presumptive basis. Service connection for CHF with bradycardia and pacemaker as secondary to hypertension is granted.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's service-connected major depression and anxiety disorder are considered part of his service-connected peripheral neuropathy, which already qualifies him for SMC(l). Therefore, he is not eligible for a higher rate of SMC.
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