The Veteran's combined disability rating has been at least 80 percent since February 23, 2007. Despite having multiple part-time and full-time jobs with substantial earnings from April 2017 to July 2019 as a security guard, the Board found that he was employable throughout his appeal period.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not significantly impair his ability to secure or follow substantially gainful employment due to his mental and physical capacity.
- Claimed conditions
- Sleep Apnea, Adjustment Disorder with Depressed Mood, Right Shoulder Disability, Right Wrist Disability, Right Knee Disability, Left Knee Disability, Bilateral Pes Planus, Hypertension, Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 80%
- Decision date
- April 27, 2020
- Citation
- 20029232
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 20029232.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected knee disabilities are rated at 10% each, and the Board finds that higher ratings are not warranted based on the evidence of record.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral knee disabilities are not related to his active service, and thus denied both claims for service connection.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection of a right knee disability, finding that there is no evidence to support an etiological relationship between his current condition and his military service.
- Denied
The Veteran's left knee disability is currently rated at 30 percent, and the Board finds no evidence of clear and unmistakable error in assigning an effective date of June 19, 2002.
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