The Veteran is unable to maintain substantially gainful employment due to service-connected disabilities, and the Board has granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability from June 27, 2016.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's service-connected disabilities (including anxiety disorder, lumbar spine osteoarthritis, left shoulder osteoarthritis, right shoulder osteoarthritis, degenerative arthritis in the right knee, degenerative arthritis in the left knee, right hip osteoarthritis, left hip osteoarthritis, and low frequency hearing loss in the left ear) have rendered her unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation.
- Claimed conditions
- Anxiety disorder, Lumbar spine osteoarthritis, Left shoulder osteoarthritis, Right shoulder osteoarthritis, Degenerative arthritis in the right knee, Degenerative arthritis in the left knee, Right hip osteoarthritis, Left hip osteoarthritis, Low frequency hearing loss in the left ear
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- October 22, 2019
- Citation
- 19179904
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,200 · Granted: 43% (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 19179904.
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.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and depressive disorder. The evidence is at least in balance regarding whether his current conditions are related to his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected anxiety disorder, lumbar strain with degenerative arthritis, right lower extremity radiculopathy, and left lower extremity radiculopathy contributed to his death from congestive heart failure. The claim for DIC under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 is denied as the Veteran did not meet the criteria of having a combined rating of at least one year immediately preceding death.
- Denied
The Board has denied service connection for a psychiatric disability to include PTSD and an anxiety disorder, other than the service-connected insomnia disorder. The claims for recurrent right shoulder disability, recurrent left shoulder disability, and obstructive sleep apnea are remanded.
- Granted
The Veteran's appeal for a higher rating for his acquired psychiatric disorder, diagnosed as PTSD, anxiety disorder, and nightmare disorder was denied. The Veteran also appealed for TDIU based on his service-connected PTSD. Both appeals were granted.
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