The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including his depression and back injuries, render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation beginning on August 1, 2019.
The deciding factor: The Veteran’s depressive disorder has resulted in occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability, making it impossible for him to maintain employment.
- Claimed conditions
- Persistent Depressive Disorder (Dysthymia), Radiculopathy, Right Lower Extremity, Radiculopathy, Left Lower Extremity, Status Post Fracture Transverse Process L3-L4 (Back Injury)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 80%
- Decision date
- November 12, 2020
- Citation
- A20016832
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 A20016832.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected persistent depressive disorder has been granted a 70 percent rating, effective September 11, 2019. The Board found that the Veteran's symptoms most closely approximated occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas such as work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking or mood.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for PTSD was granted, and his claims for increased ratings of degenerative arthritis of the spine with spinal stenosis, radiculopathy left lower extremity, and radiculopathy right lower extremity were also granted. The effective dates are not specified as they are based on when the claims were filed or denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the hearing being cancelled and a need for additional clarification of his mental health condition. A VA examination is required to determine the nature and etiology of any diagnosed conditions, including PTSD.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date of September 12, 2023 for a rating of 70 percent for persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia) with intermittent major depressive episodes and insomnia has been granted. The readjudication of the TDIU prior to January 30, 2025 is pending.
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