The Veteran's claims for service connection for a bilateral hand disorder and chronic kidney disease have been reopened due to the introduction of new and material evidence. The claim for PTSD has resulted in a total disability evaluation.,PTSD is rated based on occupational and social impairment, with deficiencies in most areas, such as work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking, or mood.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's PTSD symptoms have caused significant occupational and social impairment, meeting the criteria for a total disability evaluation.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hand Disorder, Chronic Kidney Disease
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 70%
- Decision date
- October 1, 2019
- Citation
- 19175945
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,092 · Granted: 42% (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 19175945.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's initial evaluations for chronic kidney disease and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) have been remanded due to the need for additional development, including a VA examination.
- Granted
The Veteran's PTSD and Chronic Kidney Disease ratings have been restored to their previous levels of 70% and 30%, respectively, due to the failure to conduct necessary VA examinations in November 2019.
- Granted
The Veteran's chronic kidney disease is granted with an effective date of August 10, 2022. The appeal for PTSD and hypertension remains denied.
- Denied
The Board denied an earlier effective date for service connection for chronic kidney disease as a complication of hypertension, finding that the issue was not within the scope of the Veteran's initial claim and there was no evidence suggesting a relationship between hypertension and chronic kidney disease until the September 2025 application.
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