The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for the increased rating of PTSD was denied. The Board found that it is not factually ascertainable that a rating in excess of 30 percent was warranted for his PTSD within a year before the receipt of his claim.,The Veteran’s claim for service connection for sleep disability, to include as secondary to service-connected PTSD, is remanded and requires further examination.
The deciding factor: The Board found that it is not factually ascertainable that a rating in excess of 30 percent was warranted for the Veteran's PTSD within a year before his claim.,Further examination is needed to determine if any sleep symptoms are due to a distinct and identifiable disability, and whether such disability at least as likely as not (1) began during service, (2) is related to an injury or disease during service, (3) is caused by service-connected PTSD, OR (4) is aggravated by service-connected PTSD.
- Claimed conditions
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Sleep Disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 10, 2019
- Citation
- 19191779
Veterans Law Judge
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 19191779.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD is granted as the evidence shows a current diagnosis of PTSD, an in-service stressor, and a medical link between the two.
- Denied
The Veteran's PTSD has been rated at 50% since March 23, 2004. The Board found that a higher rating is not warranted prior to February 15, 2005 due to the severity of his symptoms and their impact on his social and occupational functioning.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD and any acquired psychiatric disorder, finding that there was no evidence to support a link between his current mental health conditions and his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's PTSD resulted in occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity, warranting a 70% disability rating. The Veteran also met the criteria for a TDIU due to his service-connected disabilities preventing him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation.
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