The Veteran is granted a TDIU rating effective prior to February 27, 2015 due to his service-connected disabilities preventing him from securing and following substantially gainful employment.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's service-connected disabilities (chronic lumbosacral strain, residuals of a left shoulder injury, and depressive disorder) rendered him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment prior to February 27, 2015.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic lumbosacral strain, residuals of a left shoulder injury, depressive disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 16, 2019
- Citation
- 19103781
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 3,217 · Granted: 46% (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 19103781.
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 Veteran's claim for specially-adapted housing assistance and a special home adaptation grant was denied because he does not meet the criteria for either benefit based on his service-connected disabilities.
- Granted
The Veteran's vascular headaches are granted effective August 22, 2011. A TDIU is granted effective February 11, 2015. SMC based on housebound criteria is denied prior to July 14, 2020.
- Granted
The Board has restored the Veteran's 100% rating for depressive disorder, effective August 1, 2020, as the reduction was improper and did not comply with applicable regulations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for acquired psychiatric disability, including unspecified anxiety disorder, depressive disorder, kleptomania, and PTSD is being remanded due to the AOJ's failure to obtain medical records from his periods of incarceration or a medical opinion regarding his diagnoses.
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