The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation.
The deciding factor: The combined disability rating of 80% does not meet the schedular threshold criteria for consideration of a TDIU, as his conditions do not prevent him from securing and following a substantially gainful occupation based on his education, training, and work history.
- Claimed conditions
- Post-traumatic headaches, Unspecified depressive disorder, Multiple facial scars of the face, Deviated nasal septum (residuals of broken nose), Residuals, facial fracture of right medial orbital wall
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 80%
- Decision date
- April 28, 2020
- Citation
- 20029803
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 20029803.
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 post-traumatic headaches are currently rated at the maximum schedular rating of 50 percent, and there is no evidence to support a higher rating. The Board has determined that an extraschedular evaluation is not warranted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's post-traumatic headaches are granted a 50 percent rating, but the Board has remanded his claim for service connection of OSA due to a pre-decisional duty-to-assist error.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate VA examination and opinion regarding service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD. The Veteran's claim is also being considered for secondary service connection of his psychiatric disorder to a service-connected left knee disability.
- Granted
The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, characterized as PTSD and other specified trauma and stressor related disorder, was granted service connection. The effective date for the right elbow scar ratings is set at December 17, 2018.
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