The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not prevent him from obtaining or maintaining substantially gainful employment, and the Board denied his claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU).
The deciding factor: The Veteran's service-connected disabilities are already contemplated by the ratings assigned.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease of the low back with L4-5 disc fusion, Scoliosis, type II, Right and left lower extremity radiculopathy, Type II diabetes mellitus, Erectile dysfunction, Scars, Right ear hearing loss, Prostate cancer (status post robotic prostatectomy), Tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 7, 2020
- Citation
- 20001038
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 20 percent rating for the Veteran's left knee strain, service connection for right ear hearing loss, and service connection for a right ankle disorder. Other claims were denied or remanded.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for Type II diabetes mellitus, finding that it is secondary to the Veteran's service-connected unspecified depressive disorder.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's conditions are related to in-service noise exposure.
- 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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