The Veteran is granted a total disability based on individual unemployability (TDIU) effective March 7, 2015 due to service-connected disabilities that have rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's combined rating for compensation purposes was at least 80 percent, meeting the schedular rating criteria for TDIU. The evidence showed he had multiple service-connected conditions including back, shoulder, wrist, and knee disabilities that made him unemployable as a carpenter due to pain and limitation of motion.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic adjustment disorder, left shoulder impingement syndrome, right knee condition, lumbar spine degenerative changes, right shoulder separation, right wrist carpal tunnel, left knee chondromalacia, left wrist carpal tunnel syndrome, right sternal costochondritis, residual scar of laceration on anterior mid tibia, right index finger laceration, left hand ganglion cyst, right palm surgical scar, left palm surgical scar, left shoulder surgical scar
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 80%
- Decision date
- August 15, 2019
- Citation
- A19000925
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,456 · Granted: 23% (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 A19000925.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and TDIU are being remanded due to the addition of new evidence. The Veteran is also asked to complete a TDIU claim form, and his bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome and face numbness need to be evaluated.
- Granted
The Veteran's right knee disability is service-connected as it resulted from an injury sustained during active service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for left and right knee conditions due to insufficient medical opinions in the January 2024 rating decision. The AOJ is instructed to consider any new evidence submitted by the Veteran, including a supplemental claim for right knee condition.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeal for service connection of a right knee condition, resulting in the dismissal of this claim.
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