The Veteran is awarded a 70% disability rating for his service-connected unspecified depressive disorder and an additional 20% rating for his left knee condition, bringing his combined rating to 80%. The Board also granted entitlement to Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU) due to the severity of both conditions.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's disabilities combine to at least a 70% disability rating with one disability rated higher than 40%, meeting the schedular requirements for TDIU eligibility. Additionally, medical evidence supports that his service-connected left knee condition severely impacts his ability to work due to pain and functional limitations.
- Claimed conditions
- unspecified depressive disorder, left knee condition
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 80%
- Decision date
- August 13, 2019
- Citation
- A19000861
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 945 · Granted: 43% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 A19000861.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal was dismissed due to their death during the pendency of the appeal.
- Granted
The Veteran's anxiety and depressive disorders were rated at a 70 percent disability rating effective May 6, 2015.,Effective May 6, 2015, the Veteran was granted an earlier effective date for DEA benefits.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew their appeal regarding the service connection for a lumbar condition and left knee condition, resulting in the dismissal of these issues.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's current unspecified depressive disorder is related to his service-connected disabilities, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
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