The Veteran was unable to maintain substantially gainful employment as a result of his service-connected disabilities for the period prior to September 16, 2015. The Board found that the combined effect of the Veteran's service-connected disabilities is of sufficient severity to have rendered him unable to obtain and follow substantially gainful employment.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran’s total disability picture was assessed by a private vocational expert who considered all his service-connected disabilities jointly for the period prior to September 16, 2015.
- Claimed conditions
- coronary artery disease, intervertebral disc syndrome, diabetes mellitus, type 2 with hypertension, erectile dysfunction and onychomycosis, peripheral neuropathy of the left and right lower extremity, traumatic arthritis of the left and knees, fibrotic pleural disease, bilateral hearing loss, allergic rhinitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 90%
- Decision date
- May 29, 2019
- Citation
- 19141236
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,037 · Granted: 21% (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 19141236.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection of bilateral hearing loss and a ruptured right ear drum was dismissed due to the death of the Veteran.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was noted upon entry into active duty service and did not increase in severity during service. Therefore, it denied his claim for service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for bilateral hearing loss, migraine headaches, and PTSD due to additional development of records and examination.
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