The Veteran's appeal for an increased disability rating for his service-connected acquired psychiatric disability, characterized as PTSD, was denied. The Board found that the evidence did not show occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas such as work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking or mood.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners' reports indicated that the Veteran's symptoms were consistent with a 30% rating, which is the current assigned rating for PTSD. The evidence did not support an increase to a higher rating.
- Claimed conditions
- Posttraumatic-stress disorder (PTSD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 50%
- Decision date
- January 11, 2019
- Citation
- 19102779
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,948 · Granted: 29% (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 19102779.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board granted a 70 percent rating for PTSD and a total disability evaluation due to individual unemployability (TDIU) from March 31, 2021.
- Granted
The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, claimed as PTSD, is rated at 50 percent effective August 13, 2014.
- Denied
The Veteran's PTSD is currently rated at 50 percent, and the Board has determined that a higher rating is not warranted. The Veteran also failed to meet the schedular criteria for TDIU as his combined overall rating was 50 percent throughout the period on appeal.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate medical opinions regarding the cause of death and whether service-connected PTSD contributed substantially or materially to the Veteran's death. The Appellant contends that alcohol abuse was related to his service-connected PTSD, which led to nonischemic alcohol cardiomyopathy resulting in his death.
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