The Board denied an increased rating for the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, finding that his symptoms are more closely approximated by a 50 percent evaluation than a higher one.
The deciding factor: The Veteran’s symptoms do not meet the criteria for a 70 percent evaluation due to occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas.
- Claimed conditions
- social anxiety disorder, body dysmorphic disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 50%
- Decision date
- January 16, 2019
- Citation
- 19103928
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,548 · Granted: 31% (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 19103928.
What this means for you
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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 a higher rating and an earlier effective date for service connection of major depression disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, somatic symptom disorder, and avoidant personality disorder was denied. The Board found that the earliest effective date is February 25, 2020, as this is when the Veteran filed his intent to file a claim.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that there was a pre-decisional duty to assist error and remands the case for a new VA examination to determine if the Veteran's psychiatric disability is related to her in-service stressor.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the nature and etiology of the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorders. A VA examination is needed to provide a medical opinion on this matter.
- Dismissed
The appeal was dismissed as a matter of law, except for the grant of an initial rating of 10 percent for right knee limitation of extension.
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