The Veteran's claim for an increased evaluation in excess of 70 percent for PTSD was denied. The Board found that the Veteran did not meet the criteria for a 100 percent rating due to his symptoms, which were considered as meeting the criteria for a 70 percent rating.,The earlier effective date claim for service connection for PTSD was denied because there was no pending claim at the time of the May 21, 2004, claim. The Veteran's representative argued that the September 1994 rating decision should have considered whether his diagnosed depression was related to service, but this argument is not valid as the Clemons v. Shinseki decision had not been issued at that time.,The CUE claim for the September 1994 rating decision denying service connection for PTSD was denied because there were no clear and unmistakable errors in applying the law or regulations extant at the time of the decision.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's symptoms did not meet the criteria for a 100 percent evaluation due to total occupational and social impairment.,There was no pending claim for service connection for PTSD at the time of the May 21, 2004, claim. The earlier effective date claim is therefore denied.,The September 1994 rating decision did not consider whether the Veteran's diagnosed depression was related to service as it would have required consideration of a later legal precedent (Clemons v. Shinseki). Therefore, there were no clear and unmistakable errors in applying the law or regulations extant at the time of the decision.
- Claimed conditions
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 6, 2018
- Citation
- 1807441
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 1807441.
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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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