The Veteran's initial claim for a higher rating for PTSD prior to January 11, 2018 was denied as his symptoms did not warrant a disability rating in excess of 50 percent.,The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for PTSD from January 11, 2018 was also denied. The examiner indicated that the Veteran’s level of occupational and social impairment was with deficiencies in most areas, such as work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking and/or mood.,The Veteran's claim for TDIU due to service-connected disabilities was denied. The evidence did not support a finding that he is unemployable as a result of his single service-connected PTSD disability.
The deciding factor: The preponderance of the evidence does not show occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas, such as work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking and/or mood for the period prior to January 11, 2018.,For the period from January 11, 2018 onwards, the Veteran's level of occupational and social impairment was with deficiencies in most areas, such as work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking and/or mood. However, his symptoms did not meet the criteria for a disability rating in excess of 70 percent.,The evidence does not support a finding that the Veteran is unemployable due to his single service-connected PTSD disability.
- Claimed conditions
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 50%
- Decision date
- August 19, 2019
- Citation
- 19163952
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,726 · Granted: 19% (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 19163952.
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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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