The Veteran's claim for higher staged initial ratings for his chronic adjustment disorder was denied. The Board found that the severity, frequency and duration of manifestations did not meet the criteria for a staged initial disability rating in excess of 10 percent prior to November 7, 1996; 30 percent from November 7, 1996 through April 15, 2019; or 50 percent from April 16, 2019.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's symptoms did not meet the criteria for a higher rating under either the old or new rating criteria for chronic adjustment disorder.
- Claimed conditions
- Chronic Adjustment Disorder with Mixed Anxiety and Depressed Mood
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 50%
- Decision date
- October 10, 2019
- Citation
- 19177968
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,374 · 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 19177968.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's chronic adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood is rated at 50 percent, which does not meet the criteria for a higher rating of 70 percent or above.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected psychiatric disability (chronic adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood) is granted an initial rating of 50 percent, but no higher.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for PTSD as the Veteran was not diagnosed with PTSD based on DSM-5 criteria. The appeal for an increased rating for Chronic Adjustment Disorder with Mixed Anxiety and Depressed Mood is dismissed as moot due to a prior restoration of the evaluation.
- Granted
The Board has granted an effective date of January 9, 2023 for the award of a 70 percent disability rating for PTSD. The earliest claim was filed on that date.
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