The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including his psychiatric and physical conditions, make it impossible for him to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation.
The deciding factor: The Veteran has multiple service-connected disabilities that significantly impair his ability to work due to both his mental health issues and physical ailments.
- Claimed conditions
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder with Intermittent Explosive Disorder, scar, left posterior neck due to brass burn, testicular condition, left shoulder, osteoarthritis with impingement syndrome, status post labral tear repair, lumbar strain with levoscoliosis, right knee, patellofemoral pain syndrome, left ankle strain, bilateral tinnitus, scars, left shoulder status post arthroscopic labral repair
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 90%
- Decision date
- December 3, 2020
- Citation
- A20017895
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,480 · Granted: 26% (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 A20017895.
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 left toe amputation, triple bypass surgery, blockage in legs, and bilateral tinnitus due to procedural errors and the need for additional medical opinions regarding potential exposure to toxins during service.
- Granted
The Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea is granted as secondary to his service-connected major depressive disorder.,The Veteran's bilateral tinnitus is granted based on in-service noise exposure and current diagnosis.,The Veteran's Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is granted due to presumptive service connection for exposure at Fort McClellan, Alabama.,The Veteran's status post total shoulder replacement, to include degenerative arthritis, is granted as incurred in service.,The Veteran's scar, residual right shoulder surgery, is granted as it is related to his now service-connected status post total shoulder replacement.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for bilateral tinnitus and normocytic anemia as secondary to service-connected chronic hemorrhoids. The claim of entitlement to service connection for left inguinal hernia is remanded due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for left ankle strain, finding that there is clear and unmistakable evidence that the condition preexisted active service and was not aggravated by service. The appeal is dismissed.
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