The Veteran's PTSD caused irritability, anger, detachment, hyperarousal, loss of interest in activities he once enjoyed, strained relationships with his spouse and one child, emotional numbness, dysphoric mood, recurrent distressing memories of in-service trauma, intense or prolonged psychological distress at exposure to internal or external cues that symbolized or resembled in-service trauma, avoidance of distressing memories, thoughts, feelings, and external reminders of the trauma, inability to remember important aspects of the trauma, persistent exaggerated negative beliefs or expectations about himself, others, or the world, persistent negative emotional state, markedly diminished interest or participation in significant activities, concentration problems, chronic sleep impairment, disturbances of motivation and mood, difficulty establishing and maintaining effective work and social relationships, difficulty adapting to stressful circumstances, including work or a worklike setting, exaggerated startle response, hypervigilance, flashbacks, nightmares, lack of friends, impaired impulse control, constricted affect, difficulty maintaining employment, caused him to engage in physical and verbal abuse; he was 'a clear danger to self or others.' An initial 70 percent rating for PTSD from January 31, 2013, to June 23, 2015, is granted.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's symptoms most closely approximated a 70 percent rating throughout the entire period on appeal due to his persistent negative beliefs and expectations about himself, others, or the world; persistent negative emotional state; markedly diminished interest or participation in significant activities; concentration problems; chronic sleep impairment; disturbances of motivation and mood; difficulty establishing and maintaining effective work and social relationships; and difficulty adapting to stressful circumstances.
- Claimed conditions
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 70%
- Decision date
- April 17, 2019
- Citation
- 19130352
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,242 · Granted: 24% (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 19130352.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD is granted as the evidence shows a current diagnosis of PTSD, an in-service stressor, and a medical link between the two.
- Denied
The Veteran's PTSD has been rated at 50% since March 23, 2004. The Board found that a higher rating is not warranted prior to February 15, 2005 due to the severity of his symptoms and their impact on his social and occupational functioning.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD and any acquired psychiatric disorder, finding that there was no evidence to support a link between his current mental health conditions and his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's PTSD resulted in occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity, warranting a 70% disability rating. The Veteran also met the criteria for a TDIU due to his service-connected disabilities preventing him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation.
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