The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including sleep apnea, shoulder conditions, and PTSD, have rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's physical and psychiatric disabilities preclude him from securing any form of substantially gainful employment.
- Claimed conditions
- sleep apnea, right rotator cuff tendonitis, left rotator cuff tendonitis, degenerative disc disease of the thoracolumbar spine, osteoarthritis of the left shoulder with rotator cuff tendonitis, osteoarthritis of the right shoulder with rotator cuff tendonitis, PTSD, tinnitus, tinea pedis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 80%
- Decision date
- December 18, 2019
- Citation
- 19195026
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 19195026.
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 an acquired psychiatric disorder to ensure a proper examination and etiology opinion are provided.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including prostate cancer and related disabilities, urinary incontinence, sleep apnea, hypertension, varicose veins, lumbar spine disability, hip arthritis, shoulder arthritis, ankle arthritis, knee strain, knee replacement, and hand arthritis. The only condition granted was a 10 percent rating for a fracture of the right proximal first metacarpal.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for PTSD, generalized anxiety disorder, and somatic symptom disorder, as well as presumptive service connection for basal cell carcinoma under the PACT Act. Service connection was denied for chronic fatigue syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome, right restless leg syndrome, left restless leg syndrome, an increased rating for psychiatric disorder, bilateral hearing loss, a left forehead surgical scar, and allergic rhinitis.
- 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.
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