The Veteran's service-connected disabilities prevented him from obtaining and retaining substantially gainful employment, leading to the grant of TDIU. The cases for increased ratings for right shoulder condition and PTSD with depressive disorder are remanded due to lack of recent medical records.
The deciding factor: The Veteran’s service-connected conditions rendered him unable to obtain or maintain substantially gainful employment.
- Claimed conditions
- right shoulder traumatic degenerative joint disease, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with depressive disorder, not otherwise specified
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 31, 2019
- Citation
- 19196727
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,548 · Granted: 31% (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 19196727.
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 service-connected disabilities render him in need of regular aid and attendance, which is granted for additional special monthly compensation (SMC).
- Granted
The Veteran was granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities from August 3, 2009 to September 15, 2013. The TDIU is based on his PTSD and related psychiatric impairments.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including a new VA examination and updated treatment records. The issues of increased rating for right shoulder disability and TDIU are also being addressed.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
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