The Board has granted an initial rating of 70 percent for PTSD prior to May 24, 2018. The Veteran's claim for a higher rating and TDIU is remanded due to lack of evidence regarding his employment status since January 15, 2016.
The deciding factor: The Veteran has not provided sufficient evidence regarding his employment status since the grant of service connection for PTSD on January 15, 2016.
- Claimed conditions
- Posttraumatic-stress disorder (PTSD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 70%
- Decision date
- January 16, 2020
- Citation
- 20003608
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 20003608.
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 Board granted a 70 percent rating for PTSD and a total disability evaluation due to individual unemployability (TDIU) from March 31, 2021.
- Granted
The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, claimed as PTSD, is rated at 50 percent effective August 13, 2014.
- Denied
The Veteran's PTSD is currently rated at 50 percent, and the Board has determined that a higher rating is not warranted. The Veteran also failed to meet the schedular criteria for TDIU as his combined overall rating was 50 percent throughout the period on appeal.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate medical opinions regarding the cause of death and whether service-connected PTSD contributed substantially or materially to the Veteran's death. The Appellant contends that alcohol abuse was related to his service-connected PTSD, which led to nonischemic alcohol cardiomyopathy resulting in his death.
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