The Veteran's claim for an initial disability rating in excess of 70 percent for his psychiatric disorder has been denied. The Board found that the Veteran’s symptoms did not meet the criteria for a higher rating, as they only approximated a 70 percent degree of severity.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's symptoms were characterized by occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas but did not reach total occupational and social impairment.
- Claimed conditions
- Other specified trauma and stressor-related disorder, Major depressive disorder (recurrent, with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) features), Anxiety
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 70%
- Decision date
- June 26, 2019
- Citation
- 19150056
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for a heart disability, to include coronary artery disease (CAD), as secondary to the Veteran's anxiety and assigned a 70 percent rating from April 29, 2025. The Board also granted an initial 30 percent rating prior to that date.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, while remanding claims for depression, anxiety, sleep disorder, right knee strain, left knee strain, and lumbar spine strain.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD, depression, anxiety, agitation, and sleep issues, due to in-service military sexual trauma (MST).
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities rendered him unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation from July 7, 2017, but no earlier, to July 26, 2019, and he was granted basic eligibility for DEA benefits during the same period.
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