The Veteran's request for self-employment assistance through Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) was granted. The decision found that the Veteran has a serious employment handicap due to his service-connected disabilities, which necessitated selection of self-employment as the only reasonably feasible vocational goal.
The deciding factor: The Veteran’s psychiatric symptoms and limited formal education made it necessary for him to pursue self-employment as the only reasonable option to achieve rehabilitation goals.
- Claimed conditions
- bipolar disorder, obstructive sleep apnea, tension headaches, type II diabetes mellitus, right upper extremity peripheral neuropathy, right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy of the sciatic nerve, right shoulder bicipital tendonitis, left shoulder bicipital tendonitis, left wrist tendonitis status post fracture, left ankle lateral collateral ligament sprain, tinnitus, hypertension, gastroesophageal reflux disease, right wrist tendonitis, right knee strain, left knee strain, ankle osteoarthritis, right tibiofibular fracture, lumbar spine strain, right ear hearing loss, allergic rhinitis, benign or malignant neoplasm of the respiratory system, erectile dysfunction, tinea pedis, dry skin plantar feet, acne with trunk and thigh scars
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- October 8, 2020
- Citation
- A20015360
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,614 · Granted: 35% (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 A20015360.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for diabetes mellitus type II with erectile dysfunction was denied as the evidence did not show that he had been diagnosed and manifested to at least a 10 percent disability rating on or prior to May 8, 2001.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hearing loss, tinnitus, and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to incomplete medical records and need for further examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorders, including bipolar disorder and PTSD. The Veteran will be asked to provide additional medical records and undergo a VA examination.
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