The Board has determined that the Veteran's service-connected acquired psychiatric disorder is rated as 100 percent disabling and his other service-connected disabilities are independently rated at 60 percent or higher, meeting the criteria for SMC based on housebound status. The issue of an effective date prior to June 1, 2014, for the grant of TDIU is remanded.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's service-connected acquired psychiatric disorder (panic disorder with agoraphobia) is rated as 100 percent disabling and his other service-connected disabilities are independently rated at 60 percent or higher, meeting the criteria for SMC based on housebound status. The issue of an effective date prior to June 1, 2014, for the grant of TDIU is remanded due to insufficient evidence regarding employment and income.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired psychiatric disorder (panic disorder with agoraphobia)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 27, 2019
- Citation
- 19166395
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 3,217 · Granted: 46% (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 19166395.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder effective August 20, 1984. The Veteran's claim for TDIU was granted with an effective date of August 24, 2004.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- 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 Veteran's service-connected musculoligamentous strain, right knee, is currently rated at 10 percent and the Board finds that a higher rating is not warranted.
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