The Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 70 percent for his acquired psychiatric disorder was denied. The Board found that the severity of the Veteran’s anxiety most closely approximated a 70 percent disability rating, but did not meet the criteria for a higher rating due to lack of evidence of gross impairment in thought processes or communication, persistent delusions or hallucinations, grossly inappropriate behavior, persistent danger of hurting self or others, or intermittent inability to perform activities of daily living. The Veteran's claim for TDIU was also denied as there is no evidence showing he is unemployable due to his service-connected disabilities.
The deciding factor: The severity of the Veteran’s anxiety most closely approximated a 70 percent disability rating but did not meet the criteria for a higher rating due to lack of evidence of gross impairment in thought processes or communication, persistent delusions or hallucinations, grossly inappropriate behavior, persistent danger of hurting self or others, or intermittent inability to perform activities of daily living.
- Claimed conditions
- anxiety disorder, ischemic heart disease, coronary artery bypass graft
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 70%
- Decision date
- June 10, 2019
- Citation
- 19144778
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,272 · 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 19144778.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a heart condition, including ischemic heart disease. The evidence did not support a finding of a current disability related to service.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension and increased rating for anxiety disorder have been denied. The Board found that there is no evidence of a current disability meeting the criteria for hypertension, and the Veteran's anxiety disorder does not meet the criteria for a higher rating.
- Granted
The Veteran's ischemic heart disease is granted as presumptively related to his service in the Gulf War, specifically aboard the USS Chanticleer and USS Mataco.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer, ischemic heart disease, right lower extremity peripheral artery disease, left lower extremity peripheral artery disease, and hypertension as the evidence did not establish an in-service event or exposure to herbicide agents.
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