The Board has granted service connection for PTSD and remanded the remaining issues including right and left elbow disabilities, lumbar and cervical spine disabilities, GERD with hiatal hernia, and sinusitis. The TDIU claim is also remanded.
The deciding factor: The decision was based on the Veteran's in-service experiences as a rescue swimmer which led to PTSD. Right and left elbow disabilities are related to service due to documented injuries during rescue swims. Lumbar, cervical spine, GERD with hiatal hernia, and sinusitis issues require further examination for current severity.
- Claimed conditions
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Right Elbow Degenerative Joint Disease, Left Elbow Degenerative Joint Disease, Lumbar Spine Disability, Cervical Spine Disability, Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) with Hiatal Hernia, Sinusitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 13, 2020
- Citation
- 20002673
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 882 · Granted: 17% (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 20002673.
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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