The Veteran's service connection for a heart disability is denied. The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and major depressive disorder, is granted an initial rating of 70 percent effective September 28, 2015. An earlier effective date for TDIU and DEA benefits is granted as of September 28, 2015. The issue of service connection for alcohol use disability is considered moot.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder encompasses all his psychiatric symptoms, including PTSD and major depressive disorder, which resulted in occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas throughout the appeal period.
- Claimed conditions
- Heart disability, Acquired psychiatric disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 70%
- Decision date
- January 2, 2019
- Citation
- 19100079
Veterans Law Judge
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 19100079.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a low back disability and an increased rating for his acquired psychiatric disorder. The Board found that there was no evidence linking the current disabilities to military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for a determination on whether injuries sustained in a November 2001 incident were in the line of duty. The claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder is also remanded due to its interdependence with the line of duty issue.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a heart disability, finding that the Veteran's current heart diagnoses are not related to his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a duty to assist error in failing to obtain private treatment records from the Veteran's treating clinician.
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