The Board denied the claim for an earlier effective date for Total Disability Rating Based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU) due to service-connected disabilities, finding that the Veteran was able to engage and maintain substantially gainful employment prior to July 24, 2014.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence indicated that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not prevent him from obtaining and retaining substantial gainful employment in sedentary work prior to July 24, 2014.
- Claimed conditions
- Ankylosing spondylosis, Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Paroxysmal atrial fibrillation
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 70%
- Decision date
- October 19, 2020
- Citation
- A20015679
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 service connection for degenerative joint disease of the right hip, left hip, and left shoulder, as well as PTSD. The claim for a higher rating for the right knee scar was denied.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an earlier effective date of January 8, 2015, for the award of service connection for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation and a 30 percent rating from January 8, 2015, to December 31, 2016.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD, due to inadequate medical opinions and a Stegall violation.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's PTSD warranted a 70 percent rating from September 1, 2021, to February 3, 2022, due to occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas.
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