The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine and traumatic arthritis of the cervical spine with tension headaches, have rendered him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment. The Board has granted TDIU based on these conditions.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's service-connected disabilities prevent him from performing work that involves prolonged sitting, lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling, standing, or walking for sustained periods.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine, Traumatic arthritis of the cervical spine with tension headaches, Minor degenerative changes right shoulder, Moderate degenerative changes left shoulder associated with degenerative changes right shoulder, Chronic left ankle strain, Relaxed ligaments of the right ankle, Bilateral hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- November 20, 2019
- Citation
- 19187722
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, as there was no evidence of a current disability in the right ear and insufficient evidence to establish a nexus between the left ear hearing loss and service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter for a medical clarification regarding whether the Veteran's service-connected epilepsy has aggravated his bilateral hearing loss.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss to obtain an addendum opinion addressing the Veteran's lay statements regarding in-service acoustic trauma and a rocket blast injury.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of May 17, 2019, for a 70 percent disability rating for PTSD but denied earlier effective dates for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.
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