The Board dismissed the appeal as it has been granted a full benefit of SMC at the housebound rate since September 8, 2008.
The deciding factor: The RO's award of SMC at the housebound rate from September 8, 2008 constituted a complete grant of the benefit sought on appeal with respect to this claim and satisfied all concerns raised by the Court in the June 2019 Memorandum Decision.
- Claimed conditions
- Depressive Disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 70%
- Decision date
- January 28, 2020
- Citation
- 20006356
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an initial increased rating of 50 percent for the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disability from March 8, 2010, to May 19, 2014, and denied a higher rating thereafter.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder of generalized anxiety disorder and depressive disorder, as secondary to the service-connected left ankle disability. Service connection was also granted for pseudofolliculitis barbae, and a 20 percent rating was assigned for left ankle achilles tendonitis from October 23, 2023.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, to include GAD and depressive disorder, as well as a cervical spine disability, right wrist pain, and left wrist pain. However, the claims for lumbar spine pain were denied.
- Denied
The Board denied a disability rating in excess of 50 percent and 70 percent for an acquired psychiatric disability, including PTSD, depressive disorder, trauma and stressor related disorder, personality disorder, alcohol use disorder, and cannabis use disorder.
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