The Board has restored the Veteran's total disability evaluation based on individual unemployability (TDIU) and Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) benefits, effective January 1, 2019. The Veteran is also entitled to special monthly compensation (SMC) at the housebound rate due to her service-connected disabilities.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's TDIU was restored as she demonstrated that she could not secure or follow substantially gainful employment due to her service-connected psychiatric disability, and her additional disabilities independently rated at a combined 60 percent or more. The SMC benefits were also restored based on the housebound criteria.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired psychiatric disability, Other service-connected disabilities
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- May 13, 2020
- Citation
- 20033375
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 20033375.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal regarding attorney fees for past-due benefits awarded in a June 2021 rating decision is dismissed as moot due to the waiver of rights by R.V.C.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's request to readjudicate the claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability with alcohol and drug abuse is granted. The Board has determined that new and relevant evidence sufficient to readjudicate the claim has been received, but further development is needed due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error regarding verification of reported deaths in service.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for service connection for a low back condition and an acquired psychiatric disability are dismissed as procedural defects due to the overlapping nature of the appeals.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, finding that his claimed stressors did not meet the DSM-5 criteria for PTSD and concluding that there was no causal relationship between any current mental health condition and his military service.
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