The Board has granted a total disability rating for compensation purposes based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities from May 29, 2010. The decision finds that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities prevented him from maintaining substantially gainful employment since his last day of work in May 2010.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran’s unemployability was due to a combination of service connected and non-service connected disabilities, but resolved all reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran regarding the impact of his service-connected disabilities alone on his ability to secure and follow substantially gainful employment.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral knee disabilities, hearing loss, tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 60%
- Decision date
- October 8, 2019
- Citation
- 19177548
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 Board remands the claim for service connection for tinnitus to correct a duty to assist error, as the Veteran's lay statements regarding onset and continuity of symptoms were not adequately considered in the previous decision.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeals for service connection for bilateral pes planus, obstructive sleep apnea, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for tinnitus, cubital tunnel syndrome, right plantar fasciitis, and a right knee disability due to the lack of evidence supporting a nexus between these conditions and the Veteran's military service.
- Granted
The Board granted an effective date of April 25, 2022, for the award of service connection for tinnitus and a 100 percent initial rating for PTSD with alcohol use disorder.
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